


We Weren’t Born to Follow

by Seito



Series: Walk Beside Me [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, BAMF!KHR Girls, Multi, Not Decimo!Tsuna, Spirits, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-01 12:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 210,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4019824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” In which Ienari was picked to be Decimo instead of Tsuna, but that’s okay because Tsuna was always destined for bigger things than being a mafioso.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Daily Life Arc: Part I

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing:** Eventual R27 (but it’s a long way from happening)  
>  **Trigger:** Bullying, emotional/verbal abuse,  
>  **Warnings:** OC(s) in somewhat major role later down the road, chapter stories are a weakness of mines, please forgive the slow updates.  
>  **Important Stuff:** Canon Divergence, Twin!Fic, Not Decimo!Tsuna
> 
> Right, so welcome to my first Reborn fanfic. I’m fairly new to the fandom, like weeks old and I haven’t really bothered to read/watch most of the manga/anime. Majority of what I know about Reborn actually comes from the fandom side (aka I jumped straight into reading fanfics by accident). So if I screw up the any canon events, sorry.

**On paper only**

Namimori was peaceful. Namimori was quiet. The Sawada family fit perfectly into this quaint little town. Everything was as expected. A single mother who was raising twin sons with all the love and care in the world. The younger twin was more popular, more well liked, and a model student, exactly what Nono was looking for in his heir. The oldest was clumsy, useless, but managed to carve his own niche in the world.

Yes, everything was as it should be.

It didn’t change the fact that there was something _wrong_ in the Sawada household.

What exactly was wrong, Reborn didn’t know and it was driving Reborn up the wall. It had been three days since his arrival. While he received the reactions he had expected from the family, there was something wrong. Reborn hadn’t become the world’s greatest hitman by luck. He took pride in his skills, trusted his instincts and every fiber of his being was screaming at him that this was a job about to horribly wrong and he should cut his losses and get to safety _now_.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. It was subtle, in a blink and you missed it way. Subtle in the way for the oblivious wife, nothing ever escaped Nana’s hawk like gaze. Subtle in the hidden barbs laced in Ienari’s words or the minute flinches the younger twin had as he passed the guest bedroom. Subtle in the way Tsuna was terrified of everything, clumsy and useless as the reports said, but when Reborn stared into the older twin’s eyes, he saw an unexpected strength and resolve reflected in those brown eyes. Subtle in the way there were always five plates drying on the dish rack in a house that only had four occupants, that there were no pictures of Iemitsu on display, and that for a loving family, they didn’t sit down to eat any meal together.

There was something wrong in the Sawada household and Reborn was determined to figure it out.

\---------------------------------------

**Day and Night**

Twins are often described as so similar, it was impossible to tell them apart or so vastly different it was hard to imagine that they were twins in the first place.

The Sawada twins fell into the latter category.

The eldest twin, Tsunayoshi was a clumsy and often called Dame-Tsuna by his classmates. His academics were just barely above failing and he was terrified about just everything. He was skittish like a newborn kitten, shying away from people and everything. Average, barely, could be the best way to describe him. Nothing remarkable to write home about.

The younger twin, Ienari was the complete opposite. He was popular, a model student and kind. Captain of the Karate team, athletic and graceful with multiple trophies and awards to his name. Ienari welcomed everyone into his presence like a true sky with a smile. He charmed people with his words, had them wrapped around his little finger. A leader, a bright light and exactly what Nono was looking for in his heir.

\---------------------------------------

**Matsushita **Hachirou**  
**

“Good morning Hachirou,” Ienari greeted.

“Yo Ienari,” Hachirou called out, greeting his friend. Hachirou was a large and bulky boy with black hair and brown eyes. He was also Captain of the Judo Club and had been Ienari’s friend since they were in first grade.  

“Where’s your pipsqueak brother?” Hachirou asked.

“Already gone like always,” Ienari said with a soft sigh.

“GOOD MORNING IENARI-SAMA!” A crowd of girls appeared as the two friends approached the school.

“And your fan club is here bright and early,” Hachirou said, leering at the girls.

“Be nice Hachirou,” Ienari said. With a smile he greeted the girls, “Good morning, ladies. Thank you for taking the time to greet me.”

\---------------------------------------

**Dying Will Bullets**

Sawada Ienari was shaping up to be the easiest student Reborn had ever trained. The boy was smart, athletically fit and a budding leader. Ienari didn’t appreciate the wake-up methods Reborn implemented, but aside from a few complaints, he didn’t slack off from training.

Reborn told him to do pushups, and only with a few grumbles did Ienari do them. It wasn’t hard for the captain of the karate club to do a few physical exercises, though he often complained about the impossible time limits Reborn would inflict. And the bombs and bullets.

But the boy was a hard worker and rose to every one of Reborn’s challenges so far.

Academically, Reborn wasn’t worried since Ienari got 100s in all of his classes. So Reborn focused on mafia history, Vongola’s history and what was expected as a Mafia Boss.

Really the only thing left was to train Ienari in his dying will flames.

But something stayed Reborn’s hands.

\---------------------------------------

**Tutoring**

“Dame-Tsuna, you need to do better in school,” Reborn said as he stared down at the poor scores on Tsuna’s homework. “It reflects poorly on Ienari that your grades are terrible.”

Tsuna reeled back as if struck, flinching at Reborn’s words. He was halfway out the door before Reborn kicked him to the ground and dragged him back into his bedroom.

“Sit,” Reborn commanded as he pondered Tsuna’s strange reaction and broken expression.

Reborn watched as Tsuna sat, trembling as if Reborn was about to kill him. It was an unusual reaction and one that filled Reborn with guilt. He was used to strike fear into people’s hearts; it came with the territory of being the world’s greatest hitman.  

But, the kick he had given Tsuna was really a light tap in his cursed form and Reborn hadn’t drawn his gun, hadn’t threatened Tsuna, or even flare his bloodlust. Yet Tsuna shook as if Reborn was going to hurt him. Reborn tilted his head down, so his fedora hid his eyes. Plans needed to be revised. His usual methods would do nothing but scare away Tsuna even faster. Gentle then. Think about kittens and puppies.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Reborn said slowly. He held his palms upward and arms open, showing he had no weapons in hand, keeping his body language as non-threatening as he could.

Tsuna didn’t relax, but he did stop trembling. Caution and suspicious was predominantly reflected in his brown eyes. Reborn watched as Tsuna inched closer to the door, closer to the exit should he need to make a quick escape. Reborn let him and wondered if the reports of bullies were what caused Tsuna’s flee reaction.

“If you let me help you, I’ll tutor you,” Reborn offered.

“I-I thought you were Ienari’s tu-tutor only,” Tsuna stammered out.

“I’m here to tutor Ienari into a mafia boss. There’s nothing in my contract that said I can’t tutor you in academics,” Reborn said.

Tsuna stared at Reborn, wary and uncertain. Reborn’s breath got caught in his throat the flash of orange that shimmered in Tsuna’s eyes.

Hyper Intuition? Tsuna had Hyper Intuition?

Ienari hadn’t shown any signs of it.

“Okay,” Tsuna said. Resolve was burning bright in his eyes.

Reborn filed away the revelation for another time. Why was it every time he looked closer at Tsunayoshi, the more confused he got? “Then take out your books, Dame-Tsuna.”

\---------------------------------------

**King**

It was an undisputed fact that Hibari Kyoya reigned over Namimori Middle.

It was also an undisputed fact that Sawada Ienari gave Kyoya a run for his money.

Where Kyoya ruled through discipline, fear and order, Ienari was charismatic, kind and popular. Everyone feared being bitten to death, but few could say they weren’t charmed by the warmth, kindness and safety, Ienari seemed to protrude.

As they grew older, more and more people fell under Ienari’s spell.

“Sheep,” Kyoya said in disgust. “Mindless flock of sheep, never noticing their shepherd was a wolf in disguise.” He watched from the rooftop as a horde of people entered the school with a smiling Ienari. A wide smile on the smaller brunet’s face, false and empty as he charmed the girls with his sweet words; his hand wandering a little lower than appropriate. Kyoya’s grip tightened around his tonfa, wanting to smash something to pieces.

Next to him, leaning against the fence, Tsuna gave him a small sad smile. “That’s just how Ienari is, Kyoya-sempai.”

Kyoya shook his head. He didn’t understand how blind people were. “Hn, don’t let the stupid wolf carnivore eat you, baby omnivore.”

In the morning sun, Tsuna’s brown eyes tinted orange. “I won’t.”

\---------------------------------------

**Friends**

Friends use to be something Tsuna didn’t think he would ever have. He didn’t have any until he met Neesan. She turned Tsuna’s world upside down, pushing him forward and believing in him. Tsuna wouldn’t have had the courage to step forward if it wasn’t for her.

“Tsuna! Hurry up!”

Tsuna smiled warmly, stepping on the rooftop with his bento box. Sitting there waiting for him, was Takeshi, Hana, Kyoko and Ryohei. The tingling of his intuition alerted him that Kyoya was somewhere on the other side of the stairway, napping far enough away that Tsuna and his friends won’t be crowding him, but close enough to assure the aloof skylark that they were safely in his protection.  

To think, he nearly let Ienari destroy this at one point.

\---------------------------------------

**Morning Routine**

Mornings in the Sawada Household were never peaceful after Reborn’s arrival. It wasn’t uncommon for explosions and gunshots to be heard from Ienari’s bedroom. Nana didn’t speak anything of it, but Reborn saw the knowing look in her eyes. Tsuna strangely was never around in the mornings, and Reborn filed away the mystery for later.

“Wake up Dame-Ienari,” Reborn sang, swinging his Leon-Mallet at his unsuspecting student’s head.

“Fuck,” Ienari swore, falling out of bed as fighting to untangle himself from his blanket. His hand flew up to the new bump he was now nursing. The normally polite boy was grumpy and grouchy from his rude wake up call. “Why the hell do you keep waking me up like this, Reborn?! And stop calling me Dame-Ienari!”

“Because it’s fun,” Reborn said. A dark smirk curled on his lips. “Now twenty laps around the block,” he ordered.

Ienari looked at the clock. “School starts in 30 minutes Reborn! I still have to get dressed and eat breakfast! If you make me run laps I’ll have to shower too!”

Reborn pointed his gun at Ienari, still smirking. “Then you better start running Dame-Ienari.”

\---------------------------------------

**Survival**

Honestly, Reborn made it sound like it was easy for Tsuna to do better in school.

If a lack of understanding was the only thing keeping Tsuna from doing better, he would have improved years ago under Hana and Neesan friendships. Both girls were excellent tutors and the only reason why Tsuna was barely passing was because of them. They didn’t push him to improve, knowing the negative influences within the school. It was enough that Tsuna knew the material, even if his grades didn't reflect it.

Tsuna spent more time trying to survive than concentrating on the lesson the teacher was giving.

After all, Kyoya’s protection didn’t extend into the classroom.

“Dame-Tsuna what’s the answer to the question?” Nezu snapped.

Tsuna’s attention was elsewhere, though. His intuition buzzing, warning him of the danger coming. Osamu was sitting behind him, already reaching over to pull Tsuna’s chair back. Three seats to the right, someone was readying a spitball. If Tsuna leaned back to avoid it, the momentum plus Osamu’s pulling back would mean Tsuna’s head would be connecting with the floor.

Takeshi already intercepted a paper ball for Tsuna and was disabling something involved a bucket and wires. Tsuna truly didn’t deserve such a great friend like Takeshi.

“Dame-Tsuna!”

“23!” Tsuna yelped out, ducking as the spitball went flying in his direction. He kicked his chair back, slamming it into Osamu’s hand.

The class meanwhile burst out into laughter. “This isn’t math class,” Nezu snapped. “What did I expect from Dame-Tsuna?”

Tsuna’s smile tightened, use to the antics of the classroom. He straightened his chair, dodging another spitball. Takeshi shot a worried glance at him, which Tsuna waved off. It was just another day at school.

As Tsuna sat back down, a chill ran down his spine. His eyes darted forward to the front where Ienari was glaring at him. His intuition buzzing a warning. Tsuna needed to make sure he avoided Ienari at all cost today.

Today bad fate had other plans.

\---------------------------------------

**Sticks and Stones**

“You’re nothing but a waste of space, Dame-Tsuna.”

Tsuna’s smile tightened. He had hoped it wouldn’t have come to this. Normally he was so careful at school. But today he had slipped up and Ienari had cornered him in an empty classroom. Tsuna had left his notebook behind and had returned to empty school premises to retrieve it.

Ienari should have left hours ago, but yet here was his brother, standing before him. No doubt wanting to vent the anger that had been building from science class this morning.

“A worthless freak like yourself should just die,” Ienari continued on. His words were sharp, like thousands of glass shards being flung at Tsuna, nipping and drawing blood at all of Tsuna weak points. “It’s sickening watching you embarrassed our family with your clumsiness and failing grades. Stupid, worthless freak, couldn’t even answer Nezu-sensei question today. Do you even know how many people tell Kaasan what a useless son you are? How they pity her, whisper behind her back. Oh, the shame she must feel.”

Tsuna’s throat closed, like a rope looping around his neck. He hunched his shoulders, curling into himself, trying to block out Ienari’s hurtful words. Tsuna took a step back, backing into a wall as Ienari loomed closer and closer.  

“Kaasan would be so much happier if she wasn’t constantly cleaning up after you,” Ienari said. His smile sharp and dangerous, like a predator that just cornered his prey.

Tsuna trembled at those words, vehemently trying to deny that. That wasn't the case. Nana told him every day that she loved him without fail. But that voice in his head, the one that sounded so much like Ienari’s whispered in agreement.

Ienari reached out to grab Tsuna by the shoulder before a spark of energy stopped him. “Che,” Ienari said, pulling back his now burnt fingers. “So annoying. One day your bitch of a guard dog won’t be able to protect you,” he said darkly. “Don’t come home tonight, Dame-Tsuna. Or better yet, you should kill yourself.”  

Ienari strolled out of the classroom. As the door snapped shut, Tsuna’s legs gave out and he sank to the ground, shaking. “Not true, not true,” Tsuna whispered to himself as tears began to fall. He knew Ienari’s words are false, designed to hurt Tsuna in the only way he could.

It didn’t stop the doubt growing in his mind.

\---------------------------------------

**Haven**

Kyoya remembered when he first met Sawada Tsunayoshi. He had rescued the small brunet from a bunch of bullies. Kyoya had expected to bite the bullies to death, deliver the bullies to detention, deliver the small brunet to the nurse's office and part ways, probably never running into each other unless the small brunet needed more rescuing or broke a rule.

He hadn’t expected the small brunet to stay. But the brunet was a small animal, cute and helpless, and Kyoya had a weak spot for small animals, so he ignored the fact the brunet continued to trail after him, showing up to eat lunch when Kyoya took his nap, just basking quietly in Kyoya's presence.

A year came and went and over time Kyoya had become fond of Sawada Tsunayoshi as much as he could be.

Then Kyoya learnt the story behind the Sawada twins.

Rage didn’t even begin to cover Kyoya’s response. He only stopped from murdering Ienari because Tsuna _knocked him out_. But that was a story for another day.

Three years later, and Kyoya’s home had become a secondary haven for Tsuna when he couldn’t reach his omnivore neesan, when Ienari was too much, when his mother couldn’t provide the protection he needed.

So it wasn’t a real surprise to find the baby omnivore standing in his doorway, eyes rimmed red and trembling.

Kyoya clenched his teeth; rage ignited at his failure to protect his herd once more, already well aware that Ienari had something. It was an old feeling, frustrating and if there was someone Kyoya was willing to kill, Sawada Ienari was top of the list.

It was vexing how little they could protect him. The omnivore defended her baby omnivore physically, legally, socially; Kyoya watched over at school, protected him from bullies and most of Ienari’s attacks, but words have the power to destroy and shatter and neither of them can do anything about that. Nor could they do anything drastic either for _Vongola_ was whispered quietly in the night. Too big of a change could result in them losing Tsuna, something no one wanted. So slow they go about making changes, but Tsuna’s heart weathered attack after attack and it was Kyoya’s greatest fear that one day Ienari would break Tsuna one day.

_(Ienari nearly succeeded more than once.)_

Kyoya pushed the dark thoughts away; right now the baby omnivore needed him. He ushered Tsuna toward the bathroom for a warm shower and went about setting up the spare futons in the living room. As the sounds of the shower echoed throughout the house, Kyoya made three phone calls. One to the baby omnivore’s mother before she worried. Another to the omnivore because if Kyoya was going to suffer with feelings of helplessness, someone was going to suffer with him. The last to the baseball herbivore for a ‘sleepover’.

For Kyoya could provide safety and protection, but never comfort. That was something the Blessed Rain did.

\---------------------------------------

**Cold Fury**

‘They are late,’ Reborn thought to himself. The sun had already set and yet neither of the twins had returned home. It wasn’t uncommon for Ienari to hang out with his friends until late, a habit Reborn would have to break him of because there was no time for fun when there was training to be accomplished, but it was strange that Tsuna had yet to return. He sipped the coffee, Nana had brewed for him. Both he and Nana had eaten while waiting for the twins to return. While Nana appeared to be unconcerned, her quick glances at the clock revealed her concern otherwise.

Not to mention, there were two plates of food already, so why was Nana still cooking?

“Tadaima,” Ienari said, walking into the kitchen.

Reborn watched his student with a careful eye. There was one twin. Now where was the other?

“Okaeri, Nari-kun,” Nana greeted. She placed a plate of food down in front of her youngest. “Ne, Nari-kun, do you know where Tsu-kun is?”

“No,” Ienari curtly replied as he picked up his chopsticks to begin eating.

Reborn nearly choked on his coffee as the atmosphere of the room suddenly shifted into a cold fury. Was that Nana? Nana who, according to Iemitsu, was a sweet, loving, caring, and oblivious woman. Nana who was a civilian yet radiated a sharp and dark aura like a seasoned hitwoman. Nana who stood there with a smile on her face as if nothing was wrong and yet was dangerous enough that Reborn automatically twitched for his gun. And Ienari didn’t seem to even recognize the 180 degree turn in his mother’s aura.

What the hell was _wrong_ with this household?

The ringing of the telephone broke the rising tension. Nana swiftly answered the phone; her cold fury seeping away. With his excellent hearing, Reborn heard the conversation from down the hall.

“Ah, Tsu-kun is over at your house? I see. Thank you for watching him, Kyoya-kun.”  

Reborn went still, his mind whirling at the new information. Kyoya-kun? As in Hibari Kyoya? There was nothing in Tsuna’s file about being friends with the demon prefect of Namimori High. Hibari Kyoya was a potential Cloud Guardian but if he was already attached to one twin, would he drift to the other? Clouds were always tricky.

If he was alone by himself, Reborn would have rubbed his forehead at the upcoming headache. A week since his arrival and his plans had changed once again. He didn’t know what exactly was wrong in the Sawada household but his gut feeling told him it involved the twins, which meant if Hibari was even remotely fond of Tsuna, nothing would move him from Tsuna’s side. That meant he was down a possible Cloud Guardian.

Perhaps it was for the better. Tsuna may not be Decimo, but he was still a Sky, still had Vongola’s blood and needed protection. The all accepting Sky...

Reborn ignored the tug at his heart.

\---------------------------------------

**Smile, Smile, Smile**

Takeshi felt his heart clenched and dropped. It had been months since he last saw that frail _(false, broken)_ smile on Tsuna. It had been too much to hope that Takeshi would never see it again.

“Ah, Kyoya-sempai didn’t need to call you, Takeshi,” Tsuna said. That fake smile of his stretching a bit wider, trying to convince Takeshi that everything was alright.

Takeshi hated that smile. It was the same smile he used to see in the mirror every day before he met Tsuna. He never wanted Tsuna to smile that same smile back at him, never wanted to Tsuna to pretend, but Tsuna had been pretending longer than anyone knew.

Dropping his duffel bag to the ground, Takeshi took a seat next to Tsuna who was cuddling a large blue pillow. Tsuna squeezed the pillow tighter, shrinking into himself.

Takeshi knocked his shoulder against Tsuna's. “It’s not a problem Tsuna,” Takeshi said. He looked his friend straight in the eye and softly added, “Remember what you told me when we first met Tsuna? If you’re sad, don’t be afraid to show it. Don’t smile that false smile, it’s okay to cry. Just remember that you’re never alone.”

Like a puppet whose strings have been cut, Tsuna’s smile fell away. The smaller teen collapsed into Takeshi’s arms, hot tears falling once more.

“Don’t leave,” Tsuna pleaded. His voice soft and muffled as he buried his head into Takeshi’s chest.

Anger raged in Takeshi’s heart at Tsuna’s soft plea. Ienari never failed to make Tsuna doubt himself, never failed to destroy Tsuna’s normally strong resolve. Takeshi hated that Tsuna had to even ask, because nothing would ever tear Takeshi from Tsuna’s side; his friendship with Tsuna sealed in blood, tears and warmth just two years ago.

“Never.”

\---------------------------------------

**Chase Away the Darkness**

Morning came quietly to the peaceful Hibari household. Kyoya had long risen with the sun, preparations had to be made. The baby omnivore and his herbivore friends had been excused from school today. It was more important to rebuild the baby omnivore’s support system than for them to attend school. Not to mention Kyoya wasn’t letting baby omnivore anywhere near his wolf brother today.

Breakfast had already been made, no doubt the omnivore’s work. She swore in several different languages last night before promising to return to Namimori by tonight, the last of her meetings in the States be damned. Unsurprising, breakfast contained everyone’s favorites, so Kyoya helped himself to the hamburger steak and miso soup before heading out to find the loud-herbivore on his morning run.

Kyoya dropped the loud-herbivore into the room where the baseball herbivore and baby omnivore had been sleeping and watched the chaos unfold. He was pleased to note that baby omnivore’s smile was a little more genuine and the darkness that lingered in his eyes was nearly gone.

He left them to their chaos, confident that baby omnivore was well looked after and safe.

There was a wolf that needed to be bitten to death.

\---------------------------------------

**Bad Luck**

Reborn watched, curious as his normally graceful student tripped over thin air once more. A string of bad luck plagued Ienari all day long, causing him to trip over nothing, slip and fall, get hit by random objects straying from their paths, and more. It made his temper short and every friend of Ienari’s had wisely avoided the bleak storm that was brewing. The skylark loomed in the shadows, biting Ienari to death for every slight infraction.

From his hiding spot in the tree, Reborn observed Ienari as his student limped out gym, covered in bruises from Hibari’s last attack. An unusual dark snarl was displayed on his student’s face as he vehemently swore, “This is Dame-Tsuna’s fault.”   

Reborn’s eyebrow rose. How could this be Tsuna’s fault? As far as Reborn could tell, Tsuna hadn’t been at school at all today. _(Hadn’t come home at all)_ In fact, several of Tsuna’s friends had also skipped classes today. It was strange, but Tsuna wasn’t Reborn’s student. The boy could do as he liked.

“Worthless trash,” Ienari hissed, still unaware of his tutor’s presence.

Something twisted in Reborn’s gut. It wasn’t an uncommon phrase. Xanxus said it often it enough, but that intonation, the very idea that Ienari was saying this about his brother, woke something dark within Reborn.

How two faced his newest student was. Even Dino wasn’t this troublesome.

\---------------------------------------

**Tea**

Reborn found Tsuna sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of tea. Ienari had been abandoned at school, unconscious from yet another of Hibari’s attacks. Obviously his student had done something stupid to set off the Skylark, but Reborn wasn’t sure what.

Tsuna held the answer. Probably.

Reborn jumped onto the table.

“Hello Reborn,” Tsuna said. “Do you want some green tea? I just brewed a fresh pot.”

Reborn nodded. Where did this calm come from? In the eight days since Reborn’s arrival, Tsuna had never spoken so confidently in his presence.

Tsuna handed Reborn a gray cup; the steam curling up into the air.

“Where did you go Tsuna?” Reborn asked. “You weren’t in school today; you didn’t even come home last night. You made Mamma worried.” _You made me worried_ was unsaid. The Sawada family was the best and worst kept secret in the mafia. Anyone who knew Sawada Iemitsu knew of Nana and the twins existences. But the man was smart enough to keep their location a secret. And while no one should know that Ienari was the Decimo candidate, one never knew when assassins or kidnappers could show up. It was only because Nana had settled down after the phone call last night that stopped Reborn from seeking out what happened to Tsuna. No one was allowed to die on Reborn’s watch.

“I know,” Tsuna said softly. “Takeshi didn’t want me to come home yet, but I had to return to calm Kaasan’s worries. Once she returns from the market, though I’ll be leaving. I probably won’t be home for a few days.”

Reborn’s eyebrows furrow together in confusion. It was getting exceptionally tiring that nothing made sense in the Sawada Household. Reborn made a note to chew Iemitsu out for the false information he had been provided.

Before Reborn could ask, the front door slammed open and Ienari, bruised and bloody, stormed into the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsuna’s grip tighten around the cup and watched as Tsuna’s eyes darted toward the hallway, already seeking out an escape route.

“ ** _You_** ,” Ienari snarled at his twin.

By instinct alone, Reborn placed himself in between the twins. Ienari’s earlier words echoed in Reborn’s head. Leon quickly transformed into a gun and Reborn fired, burying a bullet in the wall behind Ienari.

“Dame-Ienari,” Reborn said, drawing the attention to him. “Since you still have the energy to move, your performance against Hibari today was pitiful. Go run fifty laps around the block.”

“Reborn!” Ienari growled, eyes flashing in anger at his twin brother. “Don’t--!”

This time the bullet was close enough to draw blood. “Now,” Reborn ordered.

Ienari hissed, knowing he was beaten and knowing failure to complete the laps would result in a painful punishment. He spun around on his heel and marched out of the house.

Once he was gone, Reborn returned his attention back to Tsuna.

Tsuna looked at Reborn with an unreadable expression. Reborn managed to identify relief and hope before they vanished. “It is probably a good thing that you aren’t going to be staying here for a couple days,” Reborn said.

A small soft smile blossomed on Tsuna’s face. “Thank you Reborn,” he said.

“For?” What was there to thank him for?

Tsuna gestured toward the direction that Ienari left in. “For stopping Ienari. For caring enough to worry about me.”

Reborn ignored the tug on his heartstrings. What a mess this job was turning into.

\---------------------------------------

**Five Plates**

Ienari was unconscious, asleep and failed to complete the fifty laps Reborn had assigned to him. Reborn had already plotted out tomorrow morning punishment. Tsuna had left, Kyoya's house he reassured both his mother and Reborn, -”yes, that Hibari Kyoya, Reborn”-, leaving with more food than he could barely carry.  

Thoughts whirled in his head, Reborn took the quiet moment to analyze what he knew. Something was going on with the twins. Ienari was a good kid, but every time his brother entered the picture, something ugly and dark flared to life. There was a small group of people who were fiercely protective of Tsuna, including his mother and _Hibari Kyoya_. They ran interference everywhere around Tsuna, protecting the older twin in whichever way they could.

What were they protecting Tsuna from, well, everything and everyone seemed to be the answer. Reborn had to wonder exactly how much of a ‘dame’ Tsuna was really and how much was a result of people constantly putting him down. Tsuna had responded so well to Reborn’s tutoring (what little they managed to do in the past week), Reborn wondered why Tsuna wasn’t doing better in school.

Reborn stopped to observed one day and the answer became clear. The amount of blatant bullying (and the teachers let it slide) that Tsuna endured in every classroom, it was no wonder Tsuna had such a hard time concentrating at school. How could he concentrate when people were stealing his papers, throwing things him or pulling his chair away from him?

It wasn’t limited to just school either. People, grown adults, went out their way to push Tsuna around when the boy went to the market to pick up milk for goodness sake. What the _fuck_ was wrong with this town that they would bully one small boy and no one but a few people thought it was wrong?! No wonder Tsuna was terrified of everything. He never knew when he was going to be attacked next.

Worse of all, Reborn couldn’t pinpoint what the cause was. It would make sense if say, Tsuna had caused a massive fire by accident that resulted in people’s deaths and that would be the reason why everyone hated him. But no, it simply had always been like that. No one could remember when it had become alright to harass Tsuna, just that everyone did so.

And yet, despite all of this, Tsuna continued to get back up. Resigned but strong, Tsuna continued to move forward. That was the strength Reborn saw in his eyes, the resolve to _keep living_ no matter what life threw at him. Reborn had to give him props for that. Weaker people would have caved years ago and killed themselves.

As for Ienari and Tsuna’s relationship, well it was easier to say it didn't exist. The twins barely spoke more than a handful of words to each other in the few days Reborn had been here. Tsuna’s friends and Nana were determined to keep the two apart at all cost. Lunch break at school had Takeshi grabbing Tsuna’s hand, sheltering him from Ienari’s gaze and out the door before the bell even finished ringing. Nana always had one twin in her sight, dragging one or the other to help with the never ending chores of the household but never all three of them. Meals were eaten separately.

None this explained why everyone kept the two twins apart. Something cautioned Reborn from asking Ienari and everyone else remained tight lipped. Just like something ugly and twisted appeared on Ienari’s face when Tsuna was mentioned, there was a frailty in Tsuna’s smile whenever Ienari was mentioned. It was the same thing reflected in Nana’s knowing smile, in the dark look in Tsuna’s friends’ eyes.

If Reborn didn’t know any better he would have said Ienari was _abusing..._

It felt like a bucket of ice was dumped on Reborn. No, Ienari wouldn’t. His student was a kind and helpful boy. Arrogant like any teenager at his age, but caring and accepting as expected of a Sky. Then Reborn recalled the ugly words that Ienari spat toward his brother, the hatred reflected in the dark brown eyes of the younger twin. But Tsuna didn’t have any bruises or broken bones…

‘ _Not all abuse is physical_ ,’ his mind whispered back to him.

No, emotional or verbal abuse existed too. Ienari’s sharp and vicious words were more than enough proof. Not to mention the friendships Tsuna had were only a few years old. Nana couldn’t be everywhere, especially not at school. Before the girls, before Yamamoto and Sasagawa (or even Hibari) who knew what Ienari use to do Tsuna, especially since everyone in this town had been hurting Tsuna for as long as anyone could remember.

Reborn pinched his eyes shut; his fedora casting a shadow on his face and hiding his troubled expression from the world. What to do now? Was it all an act on Ienari’s side? One that only those who chose Tsuna could see through? Something Reborn’s instincts, honed through experience, picked up? Or was the boy genuinely as nice as everyone said, but something about Tsuna let loose the vicious monster within Ienari? Were there other victims?

How did one even fix something like this? Arrogance could be humbled, restrain could be taught, cruelty could be curved, but this, this was something else. Mercy? Kindness? Love? Care? Things that should already be second nature, especially for a civilian like Ienari, how did one go about teaching that to someone? It would need a better person than Reborn, whose hands were so bloodstained, they might as well be permanently red, to teach Ienari that.

Why did Reborn accept this job?

Mind still spinning, Reborn wandered into the kitchen. There, Nana was washing dishes, humming softly to herself. Reborn’s gaze wandered over to the five innocent plates that sat on the dish rack. Five plates in a house that held four occupants. The blue plate was Tsuna's, pink for Nana, red for Ienari, green for Reborn and lastly a simple white plate with blue moons that Reborn couldn’t connect to anyone. Always five plates. The rest of the dishes on the rack change for whatever Nana was cooking, but always those five plates.

Reborn jumped on the counter, drawing Nana’s attention. “Mamma,” he said. “Why are there always five plates? Who does the white plate belong to?”

Nana smiled. “That’s the plate I put the food on for everyone take from, Reborn-kun.”

That was a lie. Tonight’s dinner, misoyaki butterfish, went on the black square dish that Nana was currently washing. “Blue for Tsuna, red for Ienari, pink for you and green for me. Always those four plates that you take out for dinner. Who does the white plate with blue moons belong to?” Reborn pressed.

Nana’s gaze instantly sharpened like a hawk. If he had been anyone else, Reborn might have flinched at the intensity of her sight, but Reborn refused to be cowed by that. He waited patiently for Nana’s answer. At least one mystery of Sawada household would be solved tonight.

Slowly, Nana withdrew. “Ara,” she said softly. “How perceptive of you, Reborn-san. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Even Ienari doesn’t notice.”

‘Iemitsu you liar.’ There was no way Nana was even as remotely oblivious as Iemitsu made his wife out to be. Reborn also noted the change in honorific to his name.

“How many occupants do you think live in this house?” Nana asked. Her attention turned back to the sink.

“Four,” Reborn answered without hesitation. There was no one else. That was why the five plates confused him.

Nana hummed, placing the last dish on the rack and turned off the water. She picked up the white towel and began to dry the dishes. Then she said, “At any given time there are 9 occupants in this house.”

What. The. Hell?! There was no way Reborn missed five other people living in this house. There was no one else. How could there be nine people living in Sawada Household?

“There’s you and me and of course Tsu-kun and Nari-kun. One doesn’t eat and three can take care of themselves and the last doesn’t always live with us,” Nana continued.

That didn’t explain the white plate at all! This just caused more questions.

Nana smiled at Reborn. “Though if you ask Ienari, he’ll say there are only four people living here, including yourself Reborn-san.”

So Ienari didn’t know either. But given the secrets surrounding the Sawada family, this wasn’t a surprise. “And if I ask Tsuna?” Reborn asked.

Nana’s knowing smile just grew wider.

\---------------------------------------

**Rock my world (and I’ll rock yours)**

Tsuna was eight when he met his Neesan.

He had been at the furthest edge of the park, far away from the other children and his mother’s watchful sight. His stomach hurt from where Ienari had kicked him and his knees and hands scraped from falling to the ground.

That was when he found her. Sitting under the large oak tree at the very edge of the park sat a teenage girl with long brown hair and golden eyes. She twisted her long braid of hair around her fingers, and stared up at the sky, looking peaceful and calm. A small smile on her lips.

“Are you okay, neesan?” Tsuna asked, wandering over to her.

The girl blinked, surprised by Tsuna’s appearance. She frowned in confusion. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Because you seem sad.”

The girl drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes blinked rapidly, holding back the tears now threatening to fall. “How did you know?” she asked.

Tsuna bit his lip, playing with the edge of his green shirt. “Because you look like I do when I’m sad,” he admitted quietly.

Golden eyes widened, reevaluating the boy in front of her. “Boya,” she asked. “What is your name?”

“Sawada Tsunayoshi. But you can call me Tsuna,” Tsuna introduced himself brightly.

Another smile, (a real smile), spread across the girl’s face. “Nice to meet you Tsuna. I’m Ayame. Do you want to be friends?”

A tentative hope spread in Tsuna. Friends? He didn’t have any friends. No one wanted to be his friend, not when Ienari was better at everything and mean to anyone who tried to be friends with Tsuna. “Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Ayame said. “If you don’t mind having someone like me as your friend.”

Tsuna shook his head. “I never had a friend before.”

“Then I’ll be your first,” Ayame said.

“Okay!”

That was how the Sky met his Moon. Tsuna had no idea how much his world would change from this simple meeting.  

 

 

 


	2. Daily Life Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **More Important Stuff:** Um usually my chapters aren’t this long, apologies if you’re getting used to this length. It may or may not be this long next chapter. Guest reviewer on ff.net asked for a time frame for my slow updates, I can say this much, right now the inspiration is hot and the motivation from the reviews really helped, so the chapters are actually gonna come fairly decent rate. (This was kinda fast, even for my normal standard and especially considering this is double my average word rate). It also helps that I have some free time right now, but my real life has been known to change at a moment’s notice. This story is the first story I’ve written since early March.  
>  **Triggers:** Bullying

**Moon**

 

The moon was a distant but ever watchful presence in the sky. It may never shine as brightly as the sun, may be hidden by the clouds, but always there subtly affecting and changing things like how the moon affected the tides.

 

For all the moon watched and protected, it was always farther from the sky than the other elements.

 

That distance made Ayame curse at the unfairness of the situation. "Tsuna?" she asked; her eyes roaming over Tsuna’s form, trying to see if he was hurt. Of course, Ienari would do something while she had been away on a business trip. The minute her plane touched down in Japan, she had rushed over to Namimori, worried sick out of her mind.

 

There was a sense of relief to see the resolve still lit in Tsuna's eyes, the strength to live that Ayame helped forged because that was all she could do. Ienari hadn't snuffed out that fire yet.

 

"I'm fine, Neesan," Tsuna reassured her. "No, really, everyone has been taking care of me. We have been sleeping over at Kyoya-sempai's house the last three days."

 

Bless Hibari Kyoya. Crowding or not, Kyoya never turned away Tsuna, never. Ayame thanked every star in the sky that Tsuna had such a strong protector.  Especially when she was unable to do so.

 

"And Reborn?" Ayame asked sharply. She knew logically that Reborn wasn't a threat to Tsuna, not really. The hitman had morals, but it didn’t change the fact that he was a _hitman_. She would never forgive herself for letting Reborn get close to Tsuna if the hitman was hurting her little brother.

 

Tsuna hesitated for a bit. “Reborn has been, well nice, isn’t really the word to describe him. And he did kick me--”

 

“WHAT?”

 

“Not like that, Neesan!” Tsuna hurried to explain. “It didn’t really hurt and he hasn’t done anything since. I mean he normally shoots bullets and throws bombs at Ienari, so that’s probably his normal teaching style. He has been tutoring me too, which is great because Hana has to help out with her family since her dad broke his leg last month and lunch break and study period aren’t enough for her to cover everything. Reborn is really good at explaining math. Plus…” he trailed off. A thoughtful expression crossing his face.

 

“Plus?” Ayame pressed.

 

“He defended me against Ienari last night,” Tsuna said. “I thought… -he’s Ienari’s tutor- but Reborn stood in between Ienari and me and defended _me_.” He looked at Ayame, eyes wide in disbelief. “I don’t understand why he did that.”

 

By Inari-sama’s grace, bless Reborn! If the hitman kept this up, Ayame might actually approve of him. Ayame ruffled Tsuna’s soft locks of hair. “He probably understands, even subconsciously, what a special person  you are.”

 

Tsuna frowned. “I’m not special, neesan.”

 

“You are, and I will tell you that every day until you believe me.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**The Oncoming Storm**

 

“C’mon Tsuna-kun,” Kyoko said brightly. She looped her arm around Tsuna’s as they approached the school gates. “Class is about to start. Also, after school, you’re coming with Hana and me for cake! Hana doesn’t have to help her family today, so we’re going to celebrate!”

 

Tsuna smiled, radiating with happiness. “Sure thing, Kyoko-chan.” There was a good cause of celebration. Kyoya had deemed it safe enough for Tsuna (and his “herbivore” friends) to return to school. The missed classes were a pain, but Ayame had spent all yesterday covering all the material they had missed. Reborn’s training seemed to keep Ienari suitably distracted as well.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the new transfer student Kyoya had mentioned. “Gokudera Hayato,” Tsuna mumbled to himself. From Italy; no doubt Reborn had called him to enter Ienari’s Family.

 

Tsuna made a mental note to himself to avoid Gokudera. He didn’t need another bully after him all.

 

So why did his intuition cry sadly?

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Gokudera Hayato**

 

Hayato ran a hand through his silver hair, feeling the twinge of irritation building. This school was odd.

 

He had arrived in Namimori two days ago at Reborn’s request. Reborn had told him not to engage Sawada Ienari without first observing him. Hayato complied; it was good to gather intel on your target first after all. The last two days had been uneventful. Sawada Ienari was exactly as the reports say, popular, kind and friendly. Hayato could see himself following a boss like that.

 

Then everything went to kilter when Sawada Tsunayoshi, Jyuudaime's twin brother returned to school.

 

Suddenly it was like the world decided to tilt, throwing Hayato off balance. It made his skin itch as teasing about Dame-Tsuna echoed through the halls. Jyuudaime didn't seem concerned about the words either. In fact, he seemed to agree with the words being thrown around. That wasn't right. Hayato and his sister didn’t exactly get along, but it still pissed him off whenever those scumbags bad mouthed her skills, her gender, or her looks. Because that was what family did, they looked out for each other even if they hated each other.

 

And the older twin, didn’t even defend himself. Just gave a humorless smile with tired, resigned eyes, as if he was used to the fact the entire school was bullying him.

 

How was Jyuudaime going to take care of their Famaglia if he didn't even defend his own brother?

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Rain and Storm Clash**

 

"Watch where you are going, Dame-Tsuna," Hayato said with a sneer. God this school was so annoying and Hayato's short temper lit the moment the small brunet had collided with him in the hallway.   

 

The brunet let out a soft, 'Hiiee' before stepping back. His shoulders hunched, shrinking into himself, trembling like Hayato had hit him.

 

The weak and pathetic attitude only further to increase Hayato's ire. "You're as annoying as your brother -!"

 

Hayato's words were cut off as a silver baseball bat was placed against his neck in a swift swing. Cursing loudly, he took a step back, but the bat followed him, pinning him against the wall.

 

“Takeshi!” Jyuudaime’s brother called out.

 

Hayato knew that name. Yamamoto Takeshi. A natural born hitman, according to Reborn. A would be candidate for Rain Guardian, except he was friends with the wrong twin.

 

“I don’t appreciate your words, Gokudera-san,” Yamamoto said softly. His eyes narrowed and the normal present smile was gone. The air seemed to ripple around him, getting denser from the pressure that Yamamoto seemed to protrude.

 

Hayato cursed inside his head. Yamamoto was supposed to be a civilian. This… this aura was not something a civilian was suppose to have. He watched as Jyuudaime’s brother placed a hand on the baseball idiot’s shoulder and suddenly the pressure vanished. Yamamoto released Gokudera, taking a step back.

 

“Are you okay, Gokudera-san?” Jyuudaime’s brother asked, concern reflected in his large brown eyes. “Sorry about that. Takeshi’s a bit overprotective of me.”

 

What the hell? Where did the small trembling brunet with fear in his eyes go?

 

“He deserved it, Tsuna,” Yamamoto said.

 

“He doesn’t know, Takeshi,” Jyuudaime’s brother protested. “It’s just a mistake.”

 

Hayato refused to acknowledge the warmth that someone was defending him. He also bit back the guilt that just moments ago he was willing to throw dynamite at small brunet.

 

Yamamoto shook his head. “You’re too nice, Tsuna.” Then he turned to pin Gokudera with a glare. He stepped forward to shuffle Tsuna behind him, like a true subordinate. “Stay away from Tsuna. If you’re going to play that mafia game with Ienari or if you hate Ienari, I don’t care. If this is how you’re going to treat Tsuna, I promise you will be bitten to death.”

 

Without letting Hayato say another word, Yamamoto was gone, pulling Jyuudaime’s brother with him, leaving Hayato behind, stun and confused.

 

Bitten to death? Wasn’t that the demonic prefect’s catchphrase? Wait, mafia game? How did Yamamoto know about the mafia and why on earth did he think it was a game? Such bizarre attitudes everywhere too. Yamamoto wasn’t just an overprotective friend. Hayato knew if he so much toed the line, Yamamoto would have beaten him for insulting Tsuna.

 

Hayato pulled at his hair. God, this school was so frustrating!

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Running Out of Time**

 

“You look exhausted, Ayame-neesan,” Hana remarked. She handed Kyoko her cake order and passed a napkin to a concern looking Tsuna. The four of them had met up at the Lucky Cat  Cafe after school, sitting in the back corner, ignoring the stream of people that came in and out. It was a small cafe serving the best cake, desserts and coffee in town, located just three blocks from school.

 

“Hmm,” Ayame grunted in agreement. She tiredly poked her strawberry mousse cake with her fork. Dark circles under her golden eyes and her entire body language screamed of exhaustion and tension.

 

Hana wasn’t surprised. The moment Ayame had returned to Namimori, she had hit the ground running. Even though she didn’t know all of the changes, she knew Ayame had been influencing things in the background again. It had been unfortunate timing that Reborn had arrived after she had left for her business trip. Things were changing and only time would tell if it was for the better.

 

Tsuna cut into the chocolate cake he had bought. “Have you slept at all since you came back, Neesan?” he asked.

 

“A couple hours,” Ayame said, waving her hand dismissively.

 

“That’s not enough,” Kyoko said with a frown. She jabbed her red velvet cake with a fork.

 

“I’m running out of time,” Ayame said with an equal frown.

 

“Running out of time?” Hana questioned.

 

Ayame let out a tired sigh. “ I knew Vongola was hurting for a heir, but I didn’t expect them to make a move yet. Tsuna is only thirteen, but that’s the mafia for you. Child soldiers aren’t that uncommon. The only thing that concerns me at the moment is…” She trailed off, poking at her cake.

 

“Reborn,” Tsuna supplied.

 

“Is he that much a threat?” Kyoko asked. Worried filled her eyes as she bit her lip nervously.

 

“Yes? No?” Ayame said, vaguely gesturing in the air. “Reborn is a bit of a wildcard. I didn’t have a choice but to let him come to Namimori. If he had failed to arrive, Reborn, the World’s Greatest Hitman, failed to arrive, Vongola would have been interested and would have started investigating. We can’t have them looking too closely. Not now.”

 

“He hasn’t done anything yet besides hang out at the school, observing,” Hana said. It wasn’t hard to miss the baby in the tree, in the lockers, and other numerous hiding spots throughout the school. Honestly, everyone was just blind.

 

Hana polished off the last of her lemon chiffon cake and wiped her mouth. “But that might just make him smarter then most monkeys and he might just be bidding his time.”

 

Ayame waved her hands. “I’m like 97% certain that Reborn isn’t a threat to us. But the remaining 3% makes me a paranoid bastard and there is nothing more I want to do than to put a bullet in his head to protect you lot. Plus, he might not want to hurt any of you, but there’s still a strong possibility he could convince Vongola to make Tsuna a candidate. Unless you want that Tsuna?” She turned to look at the boy she considered to be a younger brother.

 

Tsuna shook his head. “No. Still don’t want to be Decimo.”

 

“Because if you change your mind, I’m not going to be angry,” Ayame promised. “I just want all of you to be happy and safe and as far away from Ienari as possible.”

 

Lips quirking up into a smile, Tsuna shook his head again. “Really neesan. I don’t want to become mafia boss and definitely no intention of inheriting Vongola. You’re putting enough on my plate as is.”

 

“If it’s too much--!”

 

“It’s fine, Neesan.”   

 

“You two are being sickeningly sweet again,” Hana commented dryly.

 

The two would be siblings both pouted at her while Kyoko giggled from beside her.

 

“That said, I think we can trust Reborn,” Tsuna said.

 

“You sure, Tsuna?” Kyoko asked.

 

Hana watched the flash of orange in Tsuna’s eyes appear. That settled that. Tsuna’s intuition had yet to lead them wrong.

 

The conversation lulled into a peaceful silence as the rest of the group finished off their cakes.

 

“Ah, one more thing,” Ayame said as they gathered their trash. “Be careful going out these days. There’s this group calling themselves Yousei that are going around kidnapping kids and teenagers. I think they’re trying to start a child slavery ring. I already alerted Kyoya about it. Intel is a bit vague, nothing more than rumors on the streets. But it says their next town target is Namimori. Just… be careful, okay?”

 

“We will,” Hana said, speaking for the three teens. She made a note to make sure Takeshi knew as well. Kyoko would will tell Ryohei later.

 

Namimori was peaceful. Namimori was quiet. Namimori was a magnet for trouble.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Missing Food**

 

Reborn was determined to figure out who the white plate with blue moons belonged to. Today had been a perfect day to do so. Ienari and Tsuna had long departed for school and Nana, after cooking breakfast, had left to go food shopping, promising to return in time for lunch.

 

And thus, sat the white plate with Nana’s homemade pancakes on the kitchen counter. Nana had covered it with a plastic cover so bugs wouldn’t get to it and to keep it warm before departing.

 

Reborn sat down at the dining table and took out his guns to clean. The white plate never failed to make an appearance at every single meal. So between now and lunch, someone had to come into the kitchen to eat. Thus Reborn would simply not move from the kitchen. Then he would at least know one of the five mysterious other occupants of the Sawada Household.

 

Ever since Nana told him there were five other people living in the house, Reborn had gone through the house searching for additional evidence. He found an extra toothbrush and a pair of house slippers that didn’t fit anyone’s current shoe size but other than that, nothing. No extra clothes, signs of where they could be sleeping, not a single hair or sight of them at all. It was aggravating and frustrating and Reborn might kill someone soon if things didn’t start making sense.

 

As the clock neared 11, Reborn frowned. Nana was due back soon and yet no one had entered the kitchen. “Did they figure out I was going to be watching and decided not to eat?” Reborn asked himself. He hopped onto the kitchen counter. “That’s a waste of Mamma’s food.”

 

Reborn lifted the plastic cover to find the white plate still under it. But the pancakes were gone. The hitman stared and stared, confused. The white plate was still there, covered in syrup and crumbs. Someone had eaten the pancakes. Someone had eaten the pancakes while Reborn was still in the room and _he never noticed_.

 

Letting out a frustrated cry, Reborn gnashed his teeth. “How is this possible?”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Akemi Kaori**

 

Tsuna had been heading down the stairs toward the baseball field to meet Takeshi when someone had hugged him from behind.

 

“Na-kun!” came a cheerful bouncy voice.

 

Tsuna recognized that voice. It was Akemi Kaori. While not as popular as Kyoko, she was still one of the prettiest girls in their grade with long straight black hair and impressive purple eyes. She was also the president of Ienari’s fan club.

 

“Akemi-san,” Tsuna said, wary. He wiggled out of her grasp and put several feet of distance between her and him. “I’m not Ienari.”

 

Her expression twisted into an ugly snarl that didn’t match her appearance. “Dame-Tsuna,” she sneered. “Why do you have to look like Na-kun? Ugh, I can’t believe I touched you,” she snapped. She stormed off without another word.

 

As she left, Tsuna could only say one thing. ‘I don’t know why you can’t tell us apart. Everyone else can.’

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Bullet Hell**

 

“Reborn! Why am I tied up like this!” Ienari howled. He was hanging upside from a tree by his ankles.

 

The baby hitman smirked and loaded his gun. “We’re testing your evasion skills today. You better dodge or be prepared to die.”

 

“REBORN!”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Desk**

 

“Oh my god Ienari-kun! What happened to you!”

 

“Are you alright?!”

 

“Did someone hurt you?!”

 

Hayato scowled, tilting his chair backwards. Jyuudaime had come to class, late and covered in bandages. The moment lunch break had signaled, the baseball idiot hauled Jyuudaime’s brother out of the room, disappearing like they always do. The remainder of the students flocked to Ienari, questioning him why he was hurt.

 

“Maa,” Ienari said with a light laugh. “It’s nothing. I just had to rescue my useless brother from being run over by a car this morning. I stopped by the infirmary to get my wounds looked at.”

 

“You saved Dame-Tsuna and he abandoned you at the infirmary!”

 

“What a jerk!”

 

Hayato scoffed. He knew bullet graze wounds when he saw them. No doubt a result of Reborn's training. He couldn’t believe Jyuudaime pin the blame on his brother though. Cover story great. But if Jyuudaime had changed to say a ‘little girl’ instead of ‘his useless brother’ (and Hayato’s teeth grated together at the lack of respect Jyuudaime had for his own blood family member), Jyuudaime’s popularity would have been boosted without anyone knowing about the mafia and without putting down his own brother.

 

Then a student wandered over to the desk in front of Hayato where Tsuna normally sat and kicked it. “Stupid Dame-Tsuna,” the student said, kicking the brunet’s desk again.

 

Another student took out a knife and stabbed it into the desk, scratching the wooden surface. A few girls pulled out markers as a couple boys took to trash Tsuna’s chair.

 

Hayato felt his stomach lurch. He turned away from the mess the students were creating. How could they be so cruel? Out of the corner his eye, Hayato spotted Jyuudaime _smiling_ at their actions.

 

Unable to stomach it anymore, Hayato stood up and headed toward the door.

 

“Hey Gokudera-san,” one of his classmates called out. “Don’t you want to help?”

 

“No. You’re too noisy,” Hayato threw over his shoulder.

 

He needed to find that baseball idiot and Jyuudaime’s brother before they came back to the classroom.  

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Ditching Class**

 

Hayato eventually found them as they were coming down the stairs from the rooftop. Not a moment to lose as the bell signaling the end of lunch would be ringing any minute now.

 

Hayato grabbed the baseball idiot by the collar of his uniform, slamming him into the wall. He ignored the plea of “Gokudera-san!” from Jyuudaime’s brother.

 

“Don’t let him go back to the classroom,” Hayato whispered into the baseball idiot’s ear, soft enough that the small brunet wouldn’t hear. “Our _classmates_ are trashing his desk right now.” He pushed the baseball idiot away, scowling. “Got that?” Hayato said in a louder tone of voice.

 

The baseball idiot blinked in surprise before his eyes narrowed in consideration. “Yeah, thanks,” he said. He then grabbed Jyuudaime’s brother’s hand and started to pull him away, saying, “Tsuna, we’re ditching for the rest of the day.”

 

“Hiee? But don’t we have a test next period?” the small brunet asked.

 

“It’s fine,” the baseball idiot said. “We’re going to fail it anyways. Might as well skip the stress and go eat cake.”

 

“Cake?”

 

Hayato twitched at the sight of flowers that seemed to appear around Jyuudaime’s brother. Mist illusions?

 

The brunet then turned around to face Hayato, beaming. “Why don’t you come with us, Gokudera-san?” Then he shrank into himself and sputtered out, “I-I m-mean the test is more important!”

 

Hayato stared and stared before pinching his eyes shut. God, this school was maddening and crazy and Hayato could practically feel himself being swept by the sheer insanity this school caused. He glanced at the baseball idiot and saw him with a look of consideration, quietly waiting for Hayato’s response. Green eyes drifted back to Jyuudaime’s brother, waiting just as patience and entirely too hopeful for someone who should probably consider Hayato to be a threat. He thought about his classmates, the bullying, and the teasing that surrounded this small brunet for no apparent reason at all. The very idea that he would have to return back to the classroom and would be staring at trashed and destroyed desk for the rest of the day unsettled him. He thought about Jyuudaime, about his smiles, his words, his _inaction_ and the subtle meanings laced in his very personality.

 

“Fine,” Hayato said. “It’s just a stupid test and this cake better be good.”

 

Jyuudaime’s brother smiled brightly. “It’s the best in town.”

 

Hayato ignored the tug at his heart, ignored the warmth, ignored the feeling that everything felt _right._

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Autograph**

 

Ayame was enjoying a cup of coffee and a slice of carrot cake when Tsuna, Takeshi and Gokudera walked into the Lucky Cat Cafe. She blinked at their appearance, but otherwise didn’t question it.

 

“Neesan!” Tsuna greeted.

 

Ayame gave a wave. “Yo, Tsuna, Takeshi. What brings you here and who is this?” She knew who Smoking Bomb Gokudera Hayato was really, but the boy didn’t know her, so introductions needed to be made.

 

“We’re ditching,” Takeshi said with a smile that had a sharp edge. Ayame made a note to ask him about it later. Something happened, but Takeshi managed to prevent Tsuna from learning about it.

 

“And this is our classmate Gokudera Hayato. He’s a transfer student from Italy. Gokudera-san, this is Ayame. She owns the cafe,” Tsuna introduced.

 

“Douzo yoroshiku,” Gokudera said with a bow.

 

Ayame returned the bow. “Douzo yoroshiku, Gokudera-san. And maa, I only own the building. Cass is the real owner of Lucky Cat Cafe. She makes all these wonderful cakes,” Ayame said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to a small woman with short brown hair at the cashier.

 

“You’re not concerned that we’re ditching?” Gokudera asked.

 

Ayame quirked her eyebrow up. “Should I be? I honestly don’t care. I assume you have a good reason to do so.”

 

Gokudera rolled his eyes and Ayame was struck with a sense of familiarity. She frowned. “Gokudera Hayato,” she mumbled, bouncing her fork against her lips. “Where have I heard that name before?”

 

It was something outside of his mafia connection, but what? The three boys stared at her curiously, though Gokudera was a touch nervous. Probably because he assumed Ayame was talking about his mafia connection.

 

_God Ayame, you roll your eyes just like my piano teacher when she’s exasperated!_

 

Ayame blinked, her brain making the lightning fast connections. “You’re that child prodigy pianist, Gokudera Hayato,” she blurted out. How had she missed that when she was researching him?

 

Gokudera blushed a bright red. “H-H-How do you know that?”  

 

“You play the piano, Gokudera-san?” Tsuna asked, surprised.

 

“I would have never guessed. Are you going to join the band club?” Takeshi asked.

 

“I haven’t played the piano in years!” Gokudera snapped. He turned back to Ayame. “How do you even know that? I wasn’t a child prodigy!”

 

Ayame shrugged. “I went to one of your concerts. It was very impressive.”

 

“I would love to hear you,” Tsuna said.

 

“I don’t play the piano anymore,” Gokudera repeated.

 

Tsuna wilted at the negative response.

 

“It’s okay, Tsuna,” Ayame said, reaching over to pat her little brother on the shoulder. “I got a recording. It isn’t as good as the real thing, but at least you’ll be able to hear Gokudera-san’s music.”

 

Tsuna brightened at her words while Takeshi laughed.

 

“How do you have a recording?” Gokudera shrieked. “I never made a recording!”

 

Ayame ignored his question, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and pen from her bag. “Can I get an autograph?”

 

Gokudera stared at her, jaw dropping open.

 

“Cake will be on me,” Ayame offered.

 

Gokudera made some various frustrated hand gestures at her and appeared to be swearing in several languages under his breath. “This town in insane,” he hissed, snatching the paper out of Ayame’s hands.

 

“Thank you!”

 

Placing the autograph back in her bag, Ayame then gestured for the boys to take a seat. "Cake is on me," she said. "What do you want?"

 

"Oero cheesecake," Tsuna said as he took the seat next to her.  

 

"I'll take a slice of the Dream cake," Takeshi said, grabbing the chair next to Tsuna.

 

Gokudera crossed his arms as he dropped into the last empty seat. "I'm not hungry." Right on cue, his stomach grumbled.

 

Ayame nodded. "Right, so one of everything for Gokudera-san. "

 

“W-what! Do you even listen to the words you’re saying out of your mouth! Crazy woman!”

 

Takeshi laughed, swinging his arm around Gokudera. “You might as well tell her. Ayame-neesan will seriously buy you one of everything.”

 

Tsuna nodded in agreement. “She will. Kyoya-sempai did the same thing and he went home with fifteen different types of cake that day.”

 

Takeshi grinned. “Not that anything really happened because of it. He just kept feeding them to you all week long, Tsuna.”

 

Ayame chuckled to herself when Gokudera shot her a pleading look. It was nice to see the three boys like this. It was like the balance of the world righted itself for just a little bit and the threads of destiny and fate sang.

 

“Fine! I’ll take a slice of chocolate cake,” Gokudera said, giving in.

 

Ayame’s smile grew wider. And thus the Storm began to stir under the blue Sky and the gentle Rain.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Concert**

 

The boys had gone, headed home before the sun began to set with another warning to be careful. Yousei was still on the prowl and there had already been one report of a child gone missing that hit the police.

 

Ayame watched them leave, waving as they disappeared around the corner. Once they were gone from sight, her smile slipped off her face. She closed her golden eyes, feeling the warm breeze wrap around her like a comforting hug. A distant memory floated in her mind, recalling an old conversation from long, long ago.

 

_“Ayame! Wanna go to this concert with me?”_

 

_“Gokudera Hayato? This is in Italy!”_

 

_“I know! But this is Lavina-sensei’s kid!”_

 

_“Your piano teacher? She had a kid?”_

 

_“I didn’t know either. She never mentioned anything before she passed away. But he’s got her eyes. Her hair too.”_

 

_“Oh, fine. We can go. But after we finish this okay?”_

 

_“Thanks Ayame!”_

 

Ayame’s eyes opened, filled with nostalgia. She smiled up at the sky, fingers threading through the open air. “We never did make it to that concert, did we Asher?”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Delay**

 

Reborn exit Ienari’s bedroom, leaving behind his unconscious student. He didn’t know why, but it felt as if everyone breathed a little easier if Reborn trained his student until he was literally unconscious. All subtle movements like usual, the way Tsuna was more likely to speak him after Ienari was down for the night or the tension that left Nana’s shoulders.

 

It was approaching the two week mark since Reborn had arrived and he had yet to fire a dying will bullet at Ienari. It wasn’t as if Ienari wasn’t ready. In fact, Ienari was an excellent student, who absorbed everything Reborn threw at him. They had already covered the basics of mafia history, an introduction into weapons and Ienari already had a strong physical core due to his karate training.

 

But the darker or more dangerous things of the mafia, how to dispose of a body, how kill someone with only a finger, _dying will flames_ , they all left Reborn with an unsettled feeling every time he thought about teaching them to Ienari.

 

So maybe Reborn could get away with not teaching Ienari some of the finer points of being a killer, but he knew dying will flames had to be introduced eventually. What Vongola boss couldn’t use dying will flames?

 

Perhaps if he called Bianchi to help with fine arts and poison training. Maybe he could put it off a bit longer.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Making Friends**

 

Apparently going out to get cake with Jyuudaime’s brother and the baseball idiot meant they were now friends. Or at least that was what Hayato was going with. It was the only way to explain how lunch had come around the next day and he found himself eating lunch in the Disciplinary Council room with them, two girls who introduced themselves as Kyoko and Hana, Kyoko's older brother Ryohei (turf-top head!) and of course the school demonic prefect _Hibari Kyoya_.

 

_(He ignored the swell of pride and happiness at the looks of gratitude the group of friends had shot him discreetly. He had done something right for once.)_

 

Had Hayato mentioned how strange this school was? Because there was no intel that mentioned that Jyuudaime’s brother managed to befriend _Hibari Kyoya_. Hayato felt that needed to be stressed several times over. Hibari Kyoya, would be Cloud Guardian and like a true cloud the Skylark was aloof and unrestrained and so dangerously violent. And yet it was clear as day how fond the violent prefect was of Tsuna.

 

Actually, it was painfully obvious that Tsuna was the glue that held this group together. The love and adoration were reflected in their eyes. Hayato's heart sang at how _right_ it felt. Tsuna was a true Sky, drawing others into his sphere of influence. It was equally easy to see how protective they were of Tsuna too. Hayato would bet his next month rent that each and every one of them would have reacted exactly like the baseball idiot did in that first disastrous meeting Hayato and Tsuna had. Even the girls.

 

Hayato lost himself in the easy camaraderie and teasing that filled the room. He didn't even mind when the baseball idiot swung his arm around Hayato’s shoulder like they were best friends or got into an argument with turf-top. He allowed himself to share a few facts about himself at the girls’ insistence and even managed to return Tsuna’s smile. It was nice to forget about the mafia for a short while.

 

He didn’t even notice that mentally he stopped referring to Sawada Tsunayoshi as Jyuudaime’s brother and just as Tsuna.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Not Chosen**

 

“I’m surprised, Gokudera, that you haven’t challenged Sawada Ienari yet,” Reborn remarked. He had tracked down the bomber after school one day. When Reborn had told Gokudera to hold off challenging Ienari, he hadn’t expected the silveret to wait an entire week. It didn’t speak of any of the impatience the bomber was known for.

 

Gokudera scowled, sticking his hands into his pockets, not meeting Reborn’s eyes. Finally the teen spoke up, “Reborn-san why wasn’t Sawada Tsunayoshi chosen for Decimo?”

 

Reborn instantly replied, “It isn’t our place to question it. It’s Nono’s decision. Why?”

 

Gokudera’s scowl deepened. “There’s something weird about this town, about the people here. There’s something weird about Sawada Ienari. It makes my skin itch. And Tsuna is like a walking mystery that doesn’t make any sense.”

 

‘Even Gokudera picked up on it,’ Reborn realized with startling clarity. What was it about this town that everything just seemed wrong? Was it only apparent to outsiders? No Tsuna and all his friends appear to be painfully aware about it. In fact, they seem to be at the center of it all.

 

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Gokudera said, letting out a frustrated sound. “But the more I see, the more I observe, the more I can honestly say I don’t feel comfortable working with Ienari-san. I can’t explain it. There’s just something about the way he doesn’t do anything for his brother, doesn’t defend him, but doesn’t outright support him either that pisses me off. Siblings aren’t suppose to act like that; you know how bad my relationship with my sister is. I would never treat her like that for all I may not get along with her. Like how is Ienari-san suppose to protect our Famiglia if he can’t even protect his own blood brother? Or rather, that he doesn’t do anything to protect his own blood brother?”

 

Reborn was silent, empathizing with the confusion and frustrated reflected on the bomber’s face. “Tsuna is not a Decimo candidate,” he said. “To follow Tsuna, that means you’re giving up any potential position in Vongola. You’ll never amount to be more than a bodyguard for a boy who is to remain a civilian for the rest of his life in this little town. Are you willing to follow Tsuna?”

 

Gokudera let out another frustrated sound. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I really don’t. All I know is that while he is weak and pathetic, being at Tsuna’s side feels _right_.”

 

Reborn tilted his fedora down in silent agreement.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Protect Me (even when I don’t need it)**

 

Reborn had been on his way home from his conversation with Gokudera. It left him with much food for thought. Tsuna was not a Decimo candidate. He was still clumsy, terrible in school, and frightened of everything. But could Reborn really blame him given what he had learned since his arrival? Not really. Namimori was toxic for Tsuna. It hurt to see the limitless potential Tsuna had, if people weren’t constantly abusing him. Tsuna’s friends certainly saw it.

 

Tsuna had the potential to become Decimo. There was resolve in his eyes, a fire that burned brightly. Compared to Ienari, Tsuna even had more guardians than his twin brother. Ienari may be more popular and had more friends, but not too many close ones. Tsuna on the other hand, had Reborn’s preferred pick for Rain, Sun, Cloud and now Storm.

 

Ienari just seemed to be so… small compared to Tsuna.

 

There was one little problem. All of this was based off a gut feeling. There was no proof that Ienari was nothing like what was written on the original report. His attitude to his brother aside, Ienari really was kind, popular and a leader. Ienari just rubbed Reborn the wrong way.

 

Reborn might suspect abuse, but everyone went out of their way to keep the twins separated, he couldn’t even confirm what the twins thought of each other. He couldn’t just present to Nono the idea of Tsuna as a candidate without any proof to as why Ienari shouldn’t be Decimo. The whole point of picking which twin in the first place was to avoid the fallout of internal war.

 

And there was no way to explain the feeling of wrongness, not without having Nono coming to Namimori personally and (hopefully) seeing how bizarre this town was. It was simply one had to see for themselves.  

 

Reborn needed to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Sawada twins.

 

He turned down a street and right into a bunch of teenage delinquents. “What do we have here?” the large one asked.

 

“A little baby pretending to be an adult,” the fat one mocked.

 

Leon transformed into his gun mode, falling into Reborn’s waiting hand. A dark smirk appeared on Reborn’s face. What a perfect stress relief that life had presented to him.

 

“Ooo, what a scary toy,” the lanky one said.

 

Before Reborn could pull the trigger, someone interrupted. “I’ll bite you to death!”

 

The delinquents froze, fear in their expressions. As the large one turned, he was immediately hit on the face with a wooden beam. As he screamed, the fat one was pushed into lanky one causing them to stumble. A small figure darted forward, scooping up Reborn and dashed down the street.

 

Reborn looked up surprised that someone had purposely interfered to save him. “Tsuna?” Reborn asked.

 

Warm brown eyes looked down at him. “Hi Reborn,” Tsuna said. “Hold on a minute, okay?” Tsuna skidded down another alleyway, jumping onto a series of boxes and trash cans before vaulting over a chain fence. Another turn before a shortcut through an empty yard and through a hole in a brick wall, up a fire escape, across the rooftop and finally dropping into the crowded shopping area of the town.

 

“I don’t think they’re following us,” Tsuna said, looking over his shoulder. Turning his attention back to Reborn, he asked, “Are you okay Reborn?”

 

Reborn on the other hand was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that the normally _clumsy_ brunet just pulled off some fairly decent acrobatics and the sheer fact that Tsuna had _saved him_. (Even if Reborn didn’t need any saving).

 

“Reborn?” Tsuna asked. Concern in his large brown eyes. “Do I need to take you to the hospital?”  

 

“Dame-Tsuna,” Reborn scoffed. “Why did you interfere?”

 

“I couldn’t leave you there!” Tsuna protested. “I know you’re the world’s greatest hitman and that you can take care of yourself, but I couldn’t leave you there.”

 

Warmth surged in Reborn’s heart. When was the last time someone actually cared enough about him that they would put themselves in harm’s way like that?  Especially someone like Tsuna who couldn’t fight and was scared of bullies. Reborn viciously squashed those feelings. Tsuna wasn’t his student. But so much potential. Tsuna was such a powerful Sky that even Reborn was being drawn in.

 

“Plus,” Tsuna continued to ramble. “There are rumors about a group called Yousei that are going around kidnapping kids and teens. They already took at least one kid. You may be able to take care of yourself, but you look exactly like what they’re targeting and I worry about that okay?”

 

Wait. What? What group? Kidnapping? Reborn hadn’t heard anything about that and he kept a strict ear to the ground for things like that. Where on earth did Tsuna hear something like that?

 

“Tsuna where did you hear that?” Reborn asked.

 

“Ah a few places,” Tsuna said. “Kyoya-sempai is on the patrol for them too.”

 

Where was the skylark getting his intel?

 

Reborn settled back in Tsuna’s arms, promising to himself to look into that rumor. That was troubling. “C’mon Tsuna,” the hitman said. “Let’s get you home before Mamma worries about you.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Foreshadowing (listen to that voice inside your head)**

 

Reborn frowned. Bianchi had said she was happy to come and help, but she was in the middle of a mission right now and wouldn’t be able to make it to Japan until at least next week. Reborn tugged at his fedora and let out an uncharacteristic sigh. There was no helping it, he supposed. Today he would introduce Ienari to the dying will bullet.

 

But first thing first, the dark warning that rumbled in his head. Get rid of anyone who could potentially get hurt. Thankfully Nana had already left, running a quick errand and Ienari was still asleep. Reborn allowed his student this morning to sleep in since it allowed Reborn to prepare everything.

 

As for Tsuna… Well, speaking of which, where did the older twin go in the mornings? Reborn rarely saw him.

 

Checking into the brunet’s room revealed to Reborn an empty bed, meaning Tsuna was already up. But the bathroom was empty, so was the kitchen. So where was he?

 

“Tsuna?” Reborn called out, hoping maybe Tsuna would hear him.

 

There was an audible thump from the yard and the patio door slid open. “You called Reborn?” Tsuna asked, sticking his head into the living room.

 

Once more Reborn was surprised by the grace Tsuna seemed to have, so out of character with his usual clumsiness. “Were you on the roof?” Reborn asked.

 

Tsuna smiled. “Ah yeah. I like starting the day with the sunrise.”

 

The sunrise? Tsuna had been up that long already? Walking mystery indeed. Every time Reborn thought he figured Tsuna out, the boy went and did something to turn all of Reborn’s expectations upside down. It was fascinating.

 

“Do you mind if you leave the house for about an hour?” Reborn asked. “I’m going to teach something to Ienari that could be potentially dangerous to bystanders.”

 

He watched as the flash of orange appear in Tsuna’s eyes, wondering, not for the first time, why Ienari didn’t show any signs of the famed Hyper Intuition and how much different life would be if Iemitsu and Nono had picked Tsuna instead of Ienari.

 

Tsuna nodded, grabbing a book off the bookshelf. “No problem. I’ll be at the park just down the street if you need me.”

 

Once Tsuna was gone, Reborn turned back to the quiet house. Now to prepare a couple things before Ienari woke up.

 

He prayed nothing wrong will happened.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Greatest Regret**

 

It hadn’t taken more than a few traps and sabotages to prepare the stage. Reborn was aiming for a small but controlled regret. So cleaning. Ienari was a polite boy so he should feel some regret if say he caused a mess in the kitchen.

 

Ten minutes after Ienari woke up, a mess was exactly what was created in the kitchen. “Shit, Kaasan is gonna kill me,” Ienari said.

 

Without any warning, Reborn fired the dying will bullet.

 

Of course, nothing ever went as planned.

 

“REBORN! KILL DAME-TSUNA WITH MY DYING WILL!”

 

Ienari took off leaving a stunned Reborn in the dust. Reborn felt his heart drop as fear ran rampant through his body. His black eyes widened as he choked out, “That was his regret?!”

 

Reborn took after his wayward student. Leon transforming into a small car to keep up with the impossible speeds Ienari was now traveling at.

 

He arrived at the park just in time to see Ienari leap up in the air, still clad in only boxers, dying will flames ablaze on his forehead. Tsuna looked up in horror to see his brother descending upon him.

 

“TSUNA!” Reborn shouted. Guns already out because between his student and Tsuna, Reborn would pick Tsuna without a moment’s hesitation. His instincts told him he was already too late, even if he fired now, it wouldn’t be before Ienari killed Tsuna.

 

A bright light filled the park.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Looks at the ending.- –cackles- 
> 
> -Throws bread crumbs everywhere- Haha so I answered a couple mysteries in this chapter, added more questions and introduced even more mysteries and characters. I hope I’m not throwing too many story threads at you guys and hopefully you’re picking up all the subtle cues everywhere. Who caught the Disney movie cameo in this chapter? 
> 
> Gokudera was being an ass when writing this. I didn’t want to follow canon events (or popular versions of twin fics) that ended with Gokudera challenging Tsuna or Ienari and ending up with one or the other. This was my compromise (and then the jerk took over the entire chapter when he finally decided to let himself be written. I didn’t even get to Lambo!). The power of normal friendships! 
> 
> Hopefully you guys like Ayame too. :3 Thank you for all the wonderful comments too. It has proven to be such a wonderful motivation factor. 
> 
> Please leave a comment on the way out and I’ll see you guys next chapter!


	3. Daily Life Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Warnings:** Supernatural Elements  
>  -Looks at reviews- haha some of you are on the right track in a few places.

_Last Time_

 

_He arrived at the park just in time to see Ienari leap up in the air, still clad in only boxers, dying will flames ablaze on his forehead. Tsuna looked up in horror to see his brother descending upon him._

 

_“TSUNA!” Reborn shouted. Guns already out because between his student and Tsuna, Reborn would pick Tsuna without a moment’s hesitation. His instincts told him he was already too late, even if he fired now, it wouldn’t be before Ienari killed Tsuna._

 

_A bright light filled the park._

\---------------------------------------

 

**Burn Bright (Please live)**

 

Reborn shielded his eyes as the bright light engulfed the park. He stood his ground as the winds howled and blew and dust scattered into the air. Reborn lowered his arms as the light died down, desperately searching for the twins amidst the dust.

 

Ienari was the first one he found. Slumped against the broken wall, rubble scattered around him, he laid unmoving. Reborn turned his attention back to the dust cloud, searching for Tsuna. Dead or alive, Ienari was down for the count. Reborn needed to find Tsuna because Reborn knew he (world’s greatest hitman!) _fucking_ missed because of the bright light that had filled the park. His stomach twisted, already fearing the worst, that Ienari had snapped Tsuna’s neck before being thrown against the wall. The dust settled further and Reborn swallowed, throat constricted tight.

  
And Tsuna…

 

Reborn felt his breath being taken away.

 

There, stood Tsuna standing strong, eyebrows furrowed and eyes gleaming orange. Orange sky flames danced on his forehead and on his fists, which were dressed in metal clad black gloves. Circling around him protectively, were four golden swords, sharp and gleaming dangerously. The hand guard curved out like a stretched wing, an orange gem at the hilt, shining from the sky flames.

 

Once more Reborn felt everything he knew about Sawada Tsunayoshi being blown away as the boy took all of his expectations turned them upside. ‘Hyper Dying Will Mode,’ Reborn thought, choking and unable to form the words. ‘Tsuna has **_Hyper Dying Will Mode_**.’ That… that made no sense. How?

 

Reborn shook his head, shoving all those thoughts into the back corner of his mind with all of his shock, confusion and questions. Now was not the time for that. If Tsuna (or Ienari) needed medical attention, he needed to make sure they got it.

 

Reborn took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Tsu--” He froze as the four swords came flying at him. The first disarming him from Leon, two pinned him to the ground and the last pressed against his throat.

 

Orange eyes flickered with recognition. “Reborn,” Tsuna said. He glanced over to Ienari’s still body, and paled. His Sky Flames, pure and bright, flickered away. The swords and gloves disappearing in a burst of flames. Tsuna sank to his knees, realizing what exactly happened.

 

Reborn rushed forward, recognizing the signs of shock. Leon transformed into a blanket which Reborn draped over Tsuna. “Tsuna,” Reborn asked softly. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Tsuna shook his head, unable to form words. Trembling, he gestured vaguely, at Reborn, at Ienari, fear and panic dancing in his eyes. Orange flashes kept overtaking his brown eyes and Reborn knew the only reason why Tsuna hadn’t broken down into a traumatic mess was because Hyper Intuition was helping him cope; distancing him emotionally and allowing Tsuna to analyze what happened and hopefully correcting Tsuna that none of this of his fault.

 

Reborn placed a comforting hand on Tsuna’s knee. “I’m fine, Dame-Tsuna,” Reborn said, revealing none of the panicky feelings he shared with Tsuna, trying to prove to Tsuna that no, Tsuna had not hurt Reborn in anyway. “I’ll check on Ienari now,” he said, understanding what Tsuna was asking.

 

Tsuna nodded, still wordless and shaking.

 

Reborn went to check his student, clearing the rubble as he went. A quick look revealed, yes Ienari was still alive, still breathing. His arm was most likely broken and while Reborn could probably heal that with his Sun Flames, he was not in a giving mood because of Ienari’s stunt. There was a large lump on Ienari’s head from where his head had impacted the wall and a dark bruise, slightly burnt, on his cheek from where Tsuna had punched him. Overall, nothing life threatening that Reborn could see.

 

Fishing out his phone from his pocket, Reborn let out an uncharacteristic frustrated sigh. This was just one big mess. He was frankly sick of it.

 

“Reborn,” came the voice over the phone.

 

“Shamal,” Reborn said. His voice was sharp and tight. “Are you in Namimori?”

 

“Yes, yes, you threatened me enough to make sure I was in the vicinity. Don’t tell me you’re already on the tenth Dying Will Bullet! It’s barely been three weeks since you arrived!”

 

Reborn grit his teeth at the mention of the Dying Will Bullet. “No, that’s not what I’m calling you about. I need you to erase someone’s memory and treat their wounds.”

 

As evidence of their longstanding friendship, Shamal was adept at reading Reborn’s moods and for once didn’t complain. “Where?”

 

Reborn gave the address, receiving a confirmation that Shamal would arrive in ten minutes. Hanging up the phone, Reborn walked back to Tsuna and jumped into his lap. Tsuna’s arms instantly went around him, trembling and hugging him close. Reborn pinched his eyes shut, listening to the frantic but steady beat of Tsuna’s heart.

 

Tsuna was safe.

 

And Reborn was never firing another dying will bullet at Ienari.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Trident Shamal**

 

Working for the mafia, in a world with dying will flames and other reality defying abilities, Shamal was used to the strange and unusual.

 

The scene he walked into at the location Reborn had provided him was instantly placed into the top five.

 

For starters, the park look like a battleground. There was a small brunet who was cuddling Reborn as if he was a teddy bear; his eyes squeezed shut as if trying to block out the world and a Leon blanket wrapped around him. His doppelganger was lying some distance away, clad only in boxers and clearly unconscious. But the thing that concerned Shamal the most was the underlying panic in Reborn’s form.

 

The hitman was a stone wall on a good day and still as unreadable on a bad day, but Shamal had been friends with the Sun Arcobaleno long enough to be able to sense Reborn’s moods, even if he displayed no outward signs of what he was feeling. And Reborn had been badly shaken. Enough that he was letting the small brunet cuddle him and was actively seeking comfort from the brunet.

 

“Tsuna,” Reborn said gently, touching the brunet’s arm. Tsuna let him go, eyes still squeezed shut and Reborn walked over to Shamal.  

 

(Since when did gentle and Reborn go together in the same sentence?!)

 

“Ciaossu Shamal,” Reborn greeted.

 

Shamal was stunned. Reborn still looked as clean cut as always but there was visible exhaustion and frustration reflected in the hitman’s eyes. “I never thought I would say this, but are you alright Reborn?” the doctor asked.

 

Reborn snorted. “You should ask your student. This town is a little weird.” He pointed to the unconscious boy. “I need you to erase his memory of this morning. And check his wounds.”

 

Shamal kneeled down to examine the unconscious boy. “You called the other boy Tsuna. As in Sawada Tsunayoshi? This would be his brother, Sawada Ienari, your student?”  

 

“Yes.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“A Dying Will Bullet training accident.”

 

Shamal concluded a broken arm and a serious head injury were the only things to be concerned about. It was relatively easy to erase the kid’s memory too. “We will need to take him to the hospital to get that broken arm into a cast and that head injury to be looked at.”

 

He looked over to the other boy. His brown eyes finally open and the shaking seemed to have subsided a little. “Do you need me to look over him too?” Shamal asked.

 

A wry grin appeared on Reborn’s face. “If you would. He said he wasn’t hurt, but best to check.”

 

Reborn walked back over to Tsuna. “Tsuna,” he coaxed. “Let Shamal look over you, okay? I want to make sure you aren’t hurt.”

 

Brown eyes peered up at Shamal, flashing orange (Vongola’s Hyper Intuition?!) for just as brief moment. “Okay,” Tsuna agreed.

 

Shamal carefully trod forward, knowing better to startle the already shaken brunet. Just as he finished his examination, another black haired teenager armed with tonfas came stalking into the park.

 

“What happened?” the teen barked out, his gray eyes flashing angrily.

 

“Ciaossu Hibari,” Reborn said. “Training accident. Tsuna is okay though.”

 

Hibari stormed forward, pulling Shamal away from Tsuna. He knelt down in front of Tsuna, visibly softening. “Tsunayoshi?”

 

“I’m fine, Kyoya-sempai. It really was training accident,” Tsuna said in a shaky voice. “Could you help Shamal get Ienari to the hospital?”

 

Shamal watched as the black hair teen tensed up at the request. Curiously, Hibari looked to the left of Tsuna into the empty space, staring intently. After a few minutes, Hibari relaxed once more and nodded.  

 

“Take him straight home, baby,” Hibari snapped at Reborn. (Shamal had to give him guts to say that to Reborn). “Herbivore, grab the stupid wolf carnivore and come with me.”

 

Shamal looked at Reborn as Hibari headed toward the exit, rapidly typing away on a cellphone. “Is he talking to me?” Shamal asked.

 

“Yes. You better hurry or he’ll leave you,” Reborn said.

 

Shamal scrambled forward to pick up the unconscious Ienari and rushed after the other teenager.

 

What a group of strange people.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**First**

 

Reborn managed to coax a still stun Tsuna back home. Nana was still gone, leaving the house a little too quiet and a little too empty. Tsuna stumbled into his bedroom, collapsing onto his bed. He lasted just a few seconds before he scooped Reborn into his lap and began to examine Reborn as if trying to reassure himself that Reborn was actually physically there. Tsuna trembled, visibly upset.

 

“Tsuna?” Reborn asked. There were too many differing thoughts swimming in Tsuna’s head for Reborn to get an accurate reading of what Tsuna was thinking.

 

“I nearly killed you,” Tsuna said, horrified. “I-, you-, if I hadn’t stopped-, and Ienari!”

 

“Tsuna, breathe. I’m fine. You’re fine. Ienari will be. It’s okay,” Reborn reassured. It was odd that he was comforting Tsuna. Reborn was never one to comfort. Yet for Tsuna, he was clearly the exception. Then again, it had been a disastrous morning. Everyone was going to need some comfort and a strong drink after this.

 

Eventually, Tsuna’s breathing even out and the trembling reduced to minute shuddering.

 

Reborn decided then to ask his question. “Tsuna, how can you use Dying Will Flames?”

 

“I taught him.”

 

Reborn turned around in Tsuna’s lap to see a burst of Sky Flames and a man with blond hair and light orange eyes materialized. The black suit, the cape, and the metal clad gloves. This was a man Reborn had only seen pictures of.

 

“Primo…”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Follow Me**

 

When Tsuna was nine, he spent his summer vacation in Ayame’s hometown.

 

Jougennotsuki was a small town on the slopes of Mt. Eiki. Home to just over 300 people, it was considered to be small enough that it didn’t even register on any maps. Lush green forests surrounded this small town; its people living off the land. The Kinga Corporation had come through a few years ago as a charity project and upgraded all of the technology in the area (working streetlights, a stable telephone system and an upgrade with training for medical equipment), but mostly the people carried on with their lives. No cars or skyscrapers in sight. The air was fresh and crisp and everyone knew everyone.

 

At the peak of Mt. Eiki was a shrine. From the base of the mountain to the very top was a long stairway framed with red tori gates leading to the shrine. Over some 5,000 steps to reach the top. “Not for the faint of heart,” Ayame said. “A test of courage, to prove your worth to the gods. They say the stairs can stretch for an infinity, trapping the unworthy.”

 

Ayame had to carry him up most of the way, but they had made it all the way to the top.

 

“Wow,” Tsuna said. The shrine at the top of the mountain was large. A huge red tori gate loomed over at the entrance, guarded by two Kitsune statues.

 

“Ex-excuse me!”

 

Ayame and Tsuna turned to see one of the hikers they had passed their way up the mountain. She was huffing and puffing, sweat rolling down her red face as she pointed down the stairs. “Help pl-please,” the woman panted. “We, not-not everyone can m-make it up h-here. The stairs seem endless.”

 

Ayame sighed. “And this is why it is not for the faint of heart.” She ruffled Tsuna’s hair. “Don’t move Tsu-kun, okay? I’ll go help the people and then show you around the shrine.”

 

Tsuna nodded. “Okay Neesan!”

 

The woman and Ayame headed back down the stairs to retrieve the rest of the woman’s group as Tsuna looked around the shrine. His brown eyes soaking up the sights. It was so different compared to Namimori. But Tsuna didn’t feel afraid. In fact, he felt safe despite the unknown that lurked just beyond the trees.

 

Now, Tsuna meant to listen to Ayame’s instructions. Really, he did. But at nine, he was still filled with curiosity and the sight of something shiny promptly distracted him. Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna spotted something sparkle in the bushes. He crept forward, trying to find what glittered. Just as he was about the pull back the branches of the bush, there was a flutter of wings and the glittering thing took off.

 

“W-wait!” Tsuna cried out, chasing after it.

 

So intent on catching it, Tsuna never noticed it was leading him farther from the shrine, through the woods, and under several tori gates. He never noticed that the forest melted away, leaving behind a wide open field. Never noticed until Tsuna straight ran into a blond hair man with light orange eyes.

 

“Who are you, _bambino_?”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Field of Flowers**

 

The afterlife was nothing like Giotto expected. Actually, to be honest, he wasn’t really sure if this world counted as the afterlife. Aside from his guardians, Giotto had yet to meet any other souls he had known. Not Ricardo or any of his descendants or even his wife. Plus, this world’s inhabitants, these strange creatures of all shapes and sizes, _dragons_ , talking objects, _dragons_ , talking plants, and did Giotto mention the _dragons?_   

 

Honestly, the next time, Giotto saw G, he was going to strangle his right hand man. Dragons! Of all the insane ideas! And G had the nerve to complain about Giotto’s ideas?

 

Giotto supposed he couldn’t complain that he was bored. Over 400 years since his death and he had yet to explore all of this _spirit world_.

 

One of his favorite places in this world was a field of yellow flowers. He didn’t know what this place was called; there was a sign, but neither Giotto nor any of his guardians could read it. Considering Giotto knew five different languages and Alaude who knew at least twelve because of his travels, that was fairly impressive.

 

He digressed. The field of yellow flowers was his favorite place to come and sit under the wide blue sky that he was so fond of. It reminded of him a simpler time, before Vongola and its sins and the regrets and anger Giotto had as he watched his famiglia, his ideal fell deeper into darkness.

 

Lost in thought, Giotto didn’t realize another person had entered the field. Not until a small body collided with his. Giotto looked down to see a small child, a small child that looked exactly like him but with brown hair and eyes.

 

“Who are you, _bambino_?”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**What’s in a Name?**

 

Tsuna was going to answer the man’s question before he remembered the very stern conversation Ayame had given him before they had traveled to the shrine.

 

_“Now Tsuna, I need to listen to me very carefully, okay? It is said that strange things happen at the shrine and sometimes things that seem to be familiar and safe aren’t always. If anyone asks, never give out your full name, okay? Tell them it’s Tsu-kun or Tsuna if you must, and that’s how I’m going to address you too. Always call me Neesan or just Aya-nee okay?”_

 

_“Why, Neesan?”_

 

_“Because words have power, especially names. And it isn’t safe to give away your name so freely.”_

 

Tsuna’s face scrunched up at the memory. “It’s Tsu-kun, mister! Who are you?”

 

The man smiled at him, ruffling his hair. “You may call me Giotto. Why are you here?”

 

Tsuna waved his hands up in the air. There was a voice in his head that purred like a content cat around this man. This man was safe, Tsuna knew that. “I was chasing that pretty sparkly flying thing! Did you see it, Giotto-nii?”

 

Giotto shook his head.

 

Tsuna pouted. He wanted to know what the shiny thing was. It was then that Tsuna took in his new surroundings. “Where did the shrine and forest go?” Tsuna asked.

 

“Oh dear.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Back at Eiki Shrine**

 

Ayame hauled the last of the hiker group to the top of the stairs, dumping the tall man to the ground. Honestly, the warning signs were there for a reason. Legends and superstitions existed for a reason.  What would have this group done had she not been here? People these days.

 

She turned around to find Tsuna was not in the spot she had left him in. “Tsu-kun?” she called out.

 

No answer.

 

Ayame paled; her eyes going wide. “His mother is going to kill me.” She took off, leaving behind the hiker group.

 

“TSU-KUN! WHERE ARE YOU?”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Sins of Blood**

 

“Oh dear,” Giotto said at Tsu-kun’s words. That implied Tsu-kun was not an inhabitant of the spirit world if he was at a shrine before this. Shrines were often portals, where the physical and spiritual planes intersected and it was easy to slip in between the two. The boy had probably gotten lost and ended up here by accident.

 

He reviewed his mental map of this world. There was a portal back two areas away. That might not be the best one. The shrine connected to that portal was an isolated one at the peak of a mountain with very little visitors. Chances are Tsu-kun didn’t come from that one. It might be safer to take Tsu-kun to that one anyways. With any luck there was a telephone (a wonderful invention) and the boy could contact his family or at least the authorities.

 

Giotto held out his hand. “Do you want me to take you back? I don’t know which shrine you came from, but I know one nearby.”

 

He drew in a sharp breath as Tsu-kun’s brown eyes flashed orange. Hyper Intuition. His heart dropped. ‘Please don’t tell me he’s one of my descendents,’ Giotto thought. ‘Please don’t tell me he was born into the dark world Vongola now resides in. Am I going to appear before him one day for the Vongola Trial?’

 

“Tsu-kun,” Giotto said softly. “You don’t have to answer me, but does the word Vongola mean anything to you?”

 

The boy’s silent but glum answer was all Giotto needed. Giotto cursed his famiglia to the depths of hell and back. A child!

 

Giotto shoved the heavy thoughts away. First thing first, get Tsu-kun out of here. Who knew the impacts of staying too long in the spirit world had on a living person. “Why don’t you tell me about your family?” Giotto asked, trying to coax the child into a lighter topic.

 

He wasn’t expecting the fear and panic that flashed in Tsu-kun eyes. Giotto cursed his family once more. He had no idea how he and Tsu-kun were related, but the last time he checked all the members of his family were somewhat decent people (for all that they were mafioso) who were raised to love and care for their blood family just as equally as their famiglia. For Tsu-kun to react like that, it spoke of neglect or abuse which meant someone was failing as a parent. Giotto was going to have some very strong words with Nono the next time they met. If he could muster enough energy, a good punch too!

 

“Friends?” Giotto asked.

 

Tsu-kun looked at him thoughtfully. “Neesan and Bari-sempai,” he said softly.

 

Giotto smiled. “Why don’t you tell me about them as we head back to the shrine? Whatever you feel comfortable revealing.”

 

Tsu-kun shyly took Giotto’s outstretched hand. He nodded in agreement. “Neesan is my first friend. She’s really nice and takes me all sorts of places. She doesn’t mind that I’m clumsy and useless and not as smart as her. I just met Bari-sempai. Bari-sempai is really scary, but really strong. He saved me from bullies.”

 

Bullies too. They had just met and Giotto’s list of people to get revenge on was starting to get surprisingly long. He would have to ask Alaude for help. His Cloud Guardian would get a kick out of that.

 

“I have a friend like that too,” Giotto said.

 

“Really?” Tsu-kun asked.

 

“Yes. He can be really scary and cold to everyone. He hates crowding and is a very independent person. But he’s really strong and has an even stronger sense of justice. He arrests anyone who breaks the rules,” Giotto said, thinking fondly of his Cloud Guardian.

 

Tsu-kun giggled. “That sounds like Bari-sempai! He’s always biting people to death for disturbing the peace.”

 

Biting people to death? That was… unique.

 

Tsu-kun continued. “I hope Bari-sempai and I can be friends like you and your scary but strong friend.”

 

Giotto smiled. “The trick with those types of people is to just be there. Don’t push into being their friends. They don’t like being restrained like that. Accept that they’re going to drift away, but know they’re always going to come back to stand by your side when you need them most.”

 

Tsu-kun’s eyes glowed orange as he nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Warm Hugs**

 

They had just made out of the field of flowers before Tsuna had started to lag. Between climbing the stairs and his stumble into the spirit world, Tsuna was exhausted. Giotto merely smiled and bend down so Tsuna could climb onto his back.

 

Tsuna was gleefully pleased at the offer. He pressed himself against Giotto’s body, noting how warm it was. It reminded him of his mother and Neesan’s hugs. Warm and safe as if nothing would ever hurt him in the world. He closed his eyes, lulled to sleep by Giotto’s heartbeat.

 

Warm and safe.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**The Great Sky (Vongola Primo)**

 

Giotto paused his trek as he felt a small flicker of Sky Flames pulse from Tsu-kun. Definitely one of his descendants. He smiled fondly at his slumbering descendant before turning his focus to the rocky terrain.

 

It was actually a good thing that Tsu-kun had fallen asleep. This area was one of the more dangerous ones where monsters roamed. The rocky terrain, sharp slopes and sudden cliffs made it equally dangerous, but it was the fastest way to the portal without having to travel through five other areas.

 

This area had a name too, but like the field of yellow flowers, Giotto couldn’t read the sign. If he could, he might have avoided this area, long route be damned.

 

Such was life. Thus halfway through the area, they ran straight into the Nue that had just claimed the area as its territory.

 

The face of a monkey, the torso of a tankui, the limbs of a tiger and a snake tail, the Nue towered over Giotto. “Hyoo Hyoo,” it cried, howling into the wind.

 

“This is bad,” Giotto said. He shook his sleeping partner. “Tsu-kun. Wake up.”

 

The boy woke up, blinking the sleep away. Tsu-kun immediately zeroed in on the Nue, paling. “Hiiieee! What’s that?”

 

“A Nue. Don’t be afraid Tsu-kun,” Giotto reassured the small boy. “But I do need you to hold onto me as tight as you can okay? I’m gonna need my hands.”

 

Giotto felt Tsu-kun’s grip tighten around his shoulders. He brought his hands forward, clenching them into a fist. With a deep breath, his Sky Flames lit, burning bright, as Giotto slipped into Hyper Dying Will Mode.

 

The Nue leapt at them; claws out and ready to shred. Giotto gathered the flames into his right fist, focusing it into a single point. His glove flickered, changing shape. “Burning Axel!”

 

The Nue was thrown backwards, slamming into the rocky terrain. Giotto wasted no time, using the dust as a cover. He flared his Sky Flames out of his hands and propelling into the sky, flying as far away as he could from the Nue.

 

“You okay Tsu-kun?” Giotto asked, looking over his shoulder.

 

Tsu-kun’s bright laughter was his answer. “Wao, you can fly!”

 

Giotto laughed. “Yeah, I can. Let’s get you back to that shrine okay?”

 

“Yes!”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**First Meetings**

 

Giotto stepped out of the portal, carrying Tsu-kun in his arms. The shrine was as majestic as he remembered and one of the few in Japan that still had a strong enough spiritual presence that Giotto could manifest himself on the physical plane with barely any energy use. Now to find that old monk Giotto saw the last time he was here or maybe that young girl that helped here during the summers.

 

“TSU-KUN!”

 

A girl with golden eyes and a long brown braid of hair flying behind her came running out of the forest looking haggard. She ran up to Giotto and began poking and prodding Tsu-kun in his arms. “Where did you go?” she asked, slightly hysterical. “I was so worried!”

 

“Neesan!” Tsu-kun said.

 

Oh. Apparently Tsu-kun did come from this shrine. That made things much easier. Now all Giotto had to do was hand over Tsu-kun to his Neesan and Giotto could fade back to the spirit world.

 

As if realizing that her Tsu-kun was being held by a person, the teenage girl paused to look up at Giotto. Her golden eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

 

Before Giotto could answer, Tsu-kun spoke up again. “Don’t be mad, Neesan! I didn’t mean to go far. I was just following the pretty shiny thing. And when I couldn’t get back, I met Giotto-nii and he helped me back here. Giotto-nii can fly! He used those same orange flames that I can!”

 

“What?!”

 

Giotto laughed nervously. He wasn’t sure if the girl would believe Tsu-kun’s words. It was pretty farfetched if one didn’t have existing knowledge of Dying Will Flames.

 

“You know what those flames are?” the girl asked Giotto.

 

Okay, she apparently believed in the flames.

 

Neesan waved her hand dismissively. “No, wait. Don’t answer that yet.” She turned her attention back to Tsu-kun. “What pretty shiny thing, Tsu-kun?”

 

A large shadow flew overhead.

 

Tsu-kun pointed up at the sky. “That pretty shiny thing!”

 

Giotto pulled Tsu-kun closer to his chest protectively, paling. “That’s… a very big shiny thing,” he said faintly.

 

Neesan made a strangled noise and promptly buried her face into her hands. “Of course that would happen. Of course.”

 

And so Giotto met Tsuna and Ayame.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Son**

 

Four years later and Giotto looked down at the brunet fondly. Tsuna had become all but another son to Giotto, just as Yoshimune and Hidetada had been a long time ago. If it was something Giotto had missed, it was being a father.

 

He reached out to thread a hand through Tsuna’s soft brown hair. The last of Tsuna’s shuddering stopped as Tsuna leaned into Giotto’s touch.

 

“How?” Reborn asked from Tsuna’s lap.

 

“Tsuna and I met four years ago,” Giotto said. “When I discovered how we were related, I simply… stuck around. Ienari can’t see me, but Tsuna can. And when Tsuna asked me to teach him how to control his Dying Will Flames, I did so.”

 

His gaze sharpened. “Not a word about Tsuna’s Dying Will Flames to Nono, Reborn.”

 

Reborn frowned. “Given Ienari’s response to the Dying Will Bullet, he is not fit to be Decimo! He just tried to kill Tsuna!”

 

Tsuna hugged Reborn closer. “Please Reborn. I don’t want to be Decimo. I don’t want to be a mafia boss.”

 

“And what’s another generation of blood and violence?” Giotto said bitterly. “I won’t make Tsuna inherit Vongola’s sins. Ienari will be fine as Decimo. His only trigger is Tsuna here, but now you know why all of Tsuna’s friends keep the two of them as far apart as possible.”

 

“But _why_? What happened between you and Ienari?” Reborn asked Tsuna; his voice raw and ragged.

 

Tsuna paled once more and shook.

 

Giotto made soft cooing noises, comforting him. “Don’t ask that, Reborn. Not now,” Giotto said. He rubbed small circles on Tsuna’s back.

 

“Fine,” Reborn said, conceding. He leant back against Tsuna.

 

After a moment of silence, Reborn spoke up again. “Primo, you were at the park too, weren’t you? And Hibari could see you as well? You’re the reason why he was staring into space.”

 

“Yes,” Giotto said.

 

“How?”

 

“Not my secret to tell.”

 

“How can I see you now when I couldn’t at the park?”

 

“A larger quantity of energy is required to do this. I normally wouldn’t bother, but I knew you weren't going to leave it alone, if I didn’t show myself,” Giotto explained. He paused, thinking. “I suppose in this state, Ienari could see me as well, but I’ve never felt the need to show myself to him.”

 

Tsuna had fallen asleep, lulled by their words. The tension finally leaving his body. Giotto maneuvered him into his bed, pulling up at the covers.

 

“Best to let him sleep,” Giotto said. He looked down at Reborn, standing to the side on Tsuna’s bed. “You should get some rest too, Reborn. It has been a long morning. I will go check on Kyoya for Ienari’s status.”

 

He vanished in a burst of flames.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Now what?**

 

Once Primo had left (and given the shift in the air with his disappearance, Reborn was certain the former Don was gone and not just invisible), Reborn sat down next to Tsuna’s slumbering body. The hitman removed his fedora and ran a hand through his hair. Leon crawled over to Tsuna’s hair, nestling himself in the soft locks. He was exhausted. Everything about this day had been horrible.

 

This answered some questions, why Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition seemed to be so powerful, confirmed that Ienari hated Tsuna to the point of wanting to kill him, but still hadn’t explained _why_. What was Reborn supposed to do now? At both Primo and Tsuna’s request, he wouldn’t inform Nono about Tsuna’s Sky Flames (it was the least Reborn could do since this particular mess started because he shot a Dying Will Bullet at Ienari). But, well, what to do with Ienari? Could Reborn still train him? Was he willing to?

 

His feelings aside, even if Reborn was willing to train Ienari, how was he supposed to? Reborn was not firing another Dying Will Bullet at Ienari. But by doing that, it meant Ienari would not build up resistance from it, would never be able to enter Hyper Dying Will Mode and possibly never awaken his Hyper Intuition. Said Hyper Intuition was the trademark of every Vongola Boss. The only possible bright side was, well, Nono didn’t have Hyper Dying Will Mode, so it wasn’t a requirement that Ienari had to learn it.

 

(And given the way his instincts hissed at the thought of Ienari learning Hyper Intuition, Reborn was going to listen to them like he should have this morning and not worry about it).

 

He supposed he could teach Ienari to harness his flames the same way Reborn (and most of the mafia world) learned how to: channeling it through a weapon of some sort and/or through rings. It would take longer, but well Reborn wasn’t feeling very generous.

 

Reborn took a deep breath, staring intently at the rise and fall of Tsuna’s chest. The implications of his choice from this morning finally hitting him. He had chosen Tsuna. When it came down to Ienari or Tsuna, Reborn had chosen Tsuna. That was…

 

He had sworn to never find another Sky after Luce.

 

Trust Tsuna to break that promise, three weeks after Reborn met him. Reborn didn’t even warm up to Luce that fast.

 

What was it about Namimori that took all of Reborn’s rules, morals, ideals and shake them up, stirring up feelings, fears, doubts and thoughts Reborn had long sealed away? There was a small part of him that Reborn that was insanely glad that Tsuna didn’t want to be Decimo, that Primo ordered him not to inform Nono. The more Reborn got to learn about Tsuna, the more it became clear that despite all the mysteries and secrets surrounding the older twin, he was a rare bright soul that didn’t deserve to be tainted by the dark world of the mafia. Not that Ienari wasn’t either, but the comparison still stood. Compare to Tsuna, Ienari was just so small and as evident from this morning, Reborn was going to choose Ienari to suffer in the darkness instead of Tsuna.

 

Save one, damn the other.

 

Reborn would train Ienari the best he could, train him in his Dying Will Flames and gather his guardians. Join the ‘Run Interference between Sawada Twins’ club, listen to his instincts about what not to teach Ienari, and once his contract with Nono was up… go back to freelancing and watching Tsuna from the shadows.

 

Keeping Tsuna away from the mafia, meant not touching Tsuna with his bloodstained hands after all.

 

Tsuna let out a low pitched whimper. Reborn reached out to pat Tsuna on the head, letting peace return to the brunet’s expression.

 

Just for today, though, Reborn will stay by Tsuna’s side.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Stuffed Animals**

 

“You wanna keep warm when you’re chilled but you don’t want to raise your heating bill! Blankets are okay, but they slip and slide and when you need to reach for something, your hands are trapped inside. Now there’s the Snuggie! From Kinga Corporation, it’s the blanket that has sleeves!”

 

The first thought Ayame had upon waking was, ‘That was a terrible commercial. Someone needs to be fired.’

 

The second was the realization that she was covered by a myriad of stuffed animals.

 

Ayame went crossed eyed, staring at the giant pink cat that was sitting on her chest. She tilted her head back, staring up at the white ceiling and wondered where she was and how she had gotten here.

 

_EXTREMEEEE!_

 

Ah, right. She had run into Ryohei while he was on his morning run. Surprisingly by himself. But either way, the boxer had taken one look at her and then dragged her off back to his house where both he and Kyoko had manhandled her onto the couch. Somewhere along the way Ayame must have fallen asleep. Which, given that she hadn’t slept much in the last 48 hours due to her insomnia, was probably the whole point of the Sasagawa siblings’ actions.

 

“Such mother hens,” Ayame muttered to herself. “I’m the oldest here. Aren’t I supposed to be taking care of them?”

 

She glanced at the clock just above the tv. It read 12:23pm. Given she had run into Ryohei at about 5 this morning, she had slept for just a little over 7 hours. Huh. Guess she was tired. It was rare for her to get that long of a sleep so undisturbed.

 

“Neesan! Did you sleep extremely well?”

 

And Ryohei appeared.  

 

“Yes, thank you Ryohei. I needed that,” Ayame said, sitting up. The stuffed animals fell off her and to the ground. “Why am I covered in stuffed animals?” she asked, picking up the orange dog off the ground and placing it back on the black couch.

 

“Kyoko thought you would be less lonely with them!”

 

“Fair enough. It was pretty comfortable,” Ayame conceded.

 

She caught the serious expression on Ryohei’s face. Letting out a heavy sigh, she glumly asked, “Do I want to know?”

 

Ryohei gave her a shaky smile. “Probably not, Neesan.”

 

“Alright,” Ayame said, standing up. “Feed me and then tell me all about it. Let’s see what we have to do today.”

 

Ryohei punched the air. “Extreme! Kyoko is making curry today for lunch!”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Outcast**

 

The sun was beginning to set when Reborn woke. Tsuna was still asleep, the even rise and fall of his chest was still reassuring to see for Reborn. The hitman pulled the covers up, tucking Tsuna in.

 

Stomach growling, Reborn then headed downstairs in search of food.

 

Surreal didn’t even begin to cover when he walked into the kitchen to find Primo and Nana chatting.

 

“Ah, Reborn-san,” Nana exclaimed. “Did you sleep well?” She placed a green cup of coffee in front of the hitman as he took a seat next to Primo.

 

“Yes, thank you Mamma.” After a beat of silence, Reborn added, “I’m sorry.” _For this morning. For setting off Ienari. For nearly letting Tsuna get killed._ Nana may not know how rare it was for Reborn to ask for forgiveness, but it didn’t mean he didn’t mean it.

 

Nana smiled guilelessly, forgiving Reborn. “It’s alright, Reborn-san,” she said. “Giotto already explained it. You didn’t know.”

 

_But Reborn should have._

 

Nana’s smile wavered slightly, twisting into something slightly self-deprecating. “Plus in the end you picked Tsuna.”

 

Something akin to pity awoke in Reborn. At first glance, it looked like Tsuna was the outcast in the family; being the clumsy and useless one. Nana loved both her sons equally. She told them every day she loved them, carefully packed their lunches and offered her unconditional love. However Ienari had always demanded her attention more, leaving it to look like Tsuna was neglected by her. But the more Reborn learned, the clearer it became that Ienari was the outcast in the family, not Tsuna.

 

By Giotto’s words, he favored Tsuna over Ienari. By Nana’s actions, her cold fury at Ienari when Tsuna hadn’t come home that one night. Iemitsu picked Ienari over Tsuna, as evident by his choice of Decimo candidate, but the man was never home.

 

As if sensing his thoughts, Nana continued talking. “I love my sons dearly. Ienari is a sweet boy, but Tsuna has always been his weak point. I had long ago made my decision that if I ever had to choose between them, I would pick Tsuna over Ienari because Tsuna needed that from me. I think Ienari knows that subconsciously and resents Tsuna even more for that.” She let out a soft sigh, resting her cheek in her hand. “I once had asked Iemitsu if I could send Ienari to him because I had known even then that only distance would help my boys. He had refused.”

 

Reborn paused at the bitter smile on Nana’s face. “Mamma,” he asked, slowly. He had always known that she _knew_ about the mafia, about the true nature of her husband’s job, but he didn’t know how much she knew. “How much do you know?”

 

Nana looked at him. For once, Reborn saw past the knowing look in Nana’s eyes and saw the bitterness and weariness that lurked within. ‘Iemitsu, you fool. You’ve made your own wife resent you.’

 

“Enough,” Nana said, closing her eyes. “I know enough that when the boys were born and Iemitsu said ‘one for you, one for me’ that he meant it literally. He had been holding Ienari when he said that.”

 

Then, as if she had just wiped the atmosphere clean, Nana smiled, clearing the air. “The cookies are done,” she said cheerfully. She pulled the cookies off the cooling rack and onto the plate. After she put them on the table, she came back with a pot of tea, filling the gray cup with a stylish K logo in front of Primo.

 

“We should get you your own cup, Giotto,” Nana remarked brightly.

 

“There really isn’t any point,” Primo responded. “I normally can’t eat.”

 

“Yes, yes. But when you do expend the energy to physically interact with this plane, it would be better! I don’t get to normally feed you,” Nana said.

 

Reborn froze at Primo’s words. The warm chocolate chip cookie he had taken was halfway to his mouth.

 

_“One doesn’t eat and three can take care of themselves and the last doesn’t always live with us.”_

 

_“I simply… stuck around.”_

 

“Primo,” Reborn said.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Are you one of the nine people who live here?” Reborn asked.

 

Primo had the nerve to simply laugh.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Report I**

 

Nono,

 

Training is progressing well. Ran into trouble when Ienari had a bad reaction to the Dying Will Bullet. Am not willing to test it out again. It was destructive enough and nearly killed a civilian bystander. Hyper Dying Will Mode out of the question. Will train Ienari in the standard way of using Dying Will Flames.

 

Reborn

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -looks up at chapter- On some levels I’m not very happy with this chapter. Oh, it covered exactly what I wanted, but I feel like I’m not sure. Like I rushed into giving you guys the information in this chapter (and that I should have held onto the information much longer). Granted, this is only the tip, but ehhh. –chews on plunny- I do hope you guys like it regardless?


	4. Yousei Arc: Part I

**Enough**

 

The Sawada Household was abuzz. It was clear to Reborn that every single one of Tsuna’s friends had found out what happened yesterday and was determined to stop in (and not leave) until they were reassured that Tsuna was alright and fine and -”Guys I need to breath!”

 

It was chaotic and lively and Reborn couldn’t help but smile at it.

 

There was another subtle shift too, in how they treated him.

 

An extra dose of caution and wariness as if they had known that the situation from yesterday was his fault, but at the same time, they easily relaxed in his presence, as if they knew that Reborn had chosen Tsuna, had chosen to erase the incident from Ienari’s mind. That he was now their ally in protecting Tsuna. Reborn mentally snorted at that. While true, it was annoying that the kids readily accepted him.

 

All of them were in the living room, curled up on the couch watching a game show involving water, mazes and bubble machines play on the TV. Yamamoto laid sprawled on Tsuna’s lap, Ryohei was leaning against the Tsuna’s shoulder. Kyoko was in the kitchen helping Nana cook up a storm, and Hana claimed the brown chair next to the couch. Hibari took the seat furthest away from everyone and appeared to be napping.

 

There was something warm about the scene, one that tugged at Reborn’s heartstrings.

 

There were still plenty of things to do, questions to be asked. Reborn knew how deep Ienari’s hatred ran, but not the reason why. He understood that Giotto was one of the five unseen occupants of the household, but that still left four more unknowns and that white plate! Namimori was still a weird place and Ienari’s hatred may be unexplained (but it was at least a probable possibility) but it didn’t explain why the rest of the town was walking around like Tsuna had killed their best friend. He needed to find out about the group called Yousei, needed to talk to Ienari and explain about Dying Will Flames but without mentioning the real reason why his student was in the hospital.

 

So much to do. So many things to figure out.

 

But for now, for now what Reborn knew was enough.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Wait Patiently**

 

Ayame took a sip of her green tea, eyes fixed on the newspaper in front of her.

 

_Kinga Corporation first 100 Trillion Yen company in the world!_

 

_International company Kinga Corporation is well known for making everything from toys to cars to doing everything from charity work to medical research. The company can proudly boast being the first company in the world to produce a revenue of over 100 trillion Yen! Owner and CEO of the Company Ayumu-kaichou had this to sa--_

 

Ayame scoffed at the article. What a bunch of useless empty words. Why on earth was this the headline article on the first page when last night there had been an earthquake on the coast of Chile killing thousands? That was far more important. People and their priorities.

 

Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted a certain hitman walking down the street, headed to the hospital to visit his student. She took another sip of her tea and didn’t draw attention to herself. There was no point. Tsuna would bring Reborn to meet her soon enough.

 

Until then, she could play in the shadows.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Wake Up**

 

“Wake up Dame-Ienari.”

 

Ienari groaned. “Five more minutes Reborn.”

 

Reborn lifted his eyebrows. Perhaps Reborn should reconsider the break he was going to give his student. He let Leon shift into his hammer form and waved it threateningly in the air.

 

As if sensing his impending doom, Ienari’s brown eyes snapped open. “Don’t hit me, Reborn!” he yelped.

 

Reborn scoffed and let Leon transform back. Revenge for Tsuna or not, he would let it slide this time. Besides Tsuna had more or less enacted his own revenge. There wasn’t really any need for Reborn to seek vengeance. On top of the broken arm and concussion, there was also a hairline fracture on Ienari’s femur, a wide colorful arrangement of bruises as a result of being slammed into the wall and a torn ligament in his ankle. All of which Ienari would recover from, eventually.

 

(Reborn silently marveled at the sheer strength that Tsuna had to cause this much damage. If the boy was this strong why did he always cower from Ienari?)

 

“You’re lucky you’re already so badly injured that I won’t cause any more additional pain, Dame-Ienari,” Reborn said. “No sense putting you further behind schedule.”

 

Ienari surveyed his surroundings and his own body. “What happened Reborn?” his student asked.

 

“Training accident.”

 

“What sort of training were we doing that I ended up like this?!” Ienari asked in disbelief.

 

“Well, you ran straight into the wall,” Reborn remarked calmly. Good Ienari didn’t remember what happened. “But not before you tried to kill someone and splattered her brains over the sidewalk. You’re lucky I was able to convince her it was all a giant prank.”

 

“I tried to kill someone?” Ienari asked, horrified.

 

Reborn wondered what Ienari’s expression would look like if he had known it was Tsuna he nearly killed. It was strange how, like flipping a switch, Ienari would be concerned about a complete stranger, but the minute his brother was mentioned, he would go cold and angry. What had happened to the twins that caused them to be like this?

 

“Since you’re going to be stuck in the hospital for the foreseeable future until you’re healed, we’ll have to modify your training schedule,” Reborn continued forward. “In the mean time…” Reborn dropped a large stack of papers onto Ienari’s stomach.

 

“Omph! What is this Reborn?” Ienari demanded.

 

“Personality test!” Reborn said cheerfully. “I want to know exactly why you lost control in the training exercise. We can’t have it repeated after all. So you’re going to fill in every single one of these.” There were over 200 different questions and scenarios listed. Reborn may have promised not to notify Nono about Tsuna’s flames, but if Reborn found a single piece of evidence that Ienari was as unhinged as he feared, there was no way in all seven hells that he was going to let his student inherit the world’s strongest mafia family if there was even a slight possibility of Ienari burning the world to ash.

 

Even if it meant tainting Tsuna’s beautiful soul.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Puppy Pile**

 

Everyone had fallen asleep.

 

Tsuna’s lips twitched in an amused smile. He looked around at his slumbering friends and felt warmth flooded his heart. It always made him ridiculously happy that they always came to check up on him. It made him loved, worth something. They were overprotective mother-hens, but they were _his friends_.  

 

Kyoko and Hana were curled together in the corner, holding each other up with a blue blanket wrapped around them both. Ryohei had taken the middle of the living room floor. Takeshi never moved from Tsuna’s lap and Kyoya had come to take Ryohei’s previous place next to Tsuna.

 

If Tsuna tilted his head back, he could catch a glimpse into the kitchen where his mother, Ayame and Giotto were all talking over tea. They were speaking too softly to make out any words, but their light, whimsical chatter made for a soothing rocky lullaby.

 

Ienari was in the hospital and despite the close call Tsuna had, he didn’t feel any fear or backlash from it. In fact, knowing his brother was far, far away from home filled Tsuna with safety.

 

Home. Tsuna let out a comfortable sigh and relaxed.

 

This was _Home_.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Lack of Information**

 

There was practically nothing on a group called Yousei. That was… frustrating. Reborn paused. Frustrating. He had been using that word a lot lately. But of course, absolutely nothing made sense in Namimori so why couldn’t there be a group with no information running around? It would have been too easy, too normal, if Reborn had found information on Yousei.

 

Unless they were new?

 

If they were a new group being established that would make sense that there would be no information about them. If they made no major threats, didn’t draw any attention from the existing groups, and were smart, they could gather in the shadows and hide until they were ready to present.

 

It didn’t explain the rumors Tsuna heard. The most Reborn could piece together from the information Tsuna had given him was there had been a spike of kidnappings in the neighboring areas. Mostly homeless kids, kids people wouldn’t miss or even notice they were missing. Because they were homeless, there weren’t any police reports. So far there, it had been an estimate of fifteen potential victims over the last two weeks. Though how many of the missing fifteen kids were actually kidnapped, it was too hard to say. Homeless kids were too hard to keep track of and many would disappear for other reasons other than a malicious group.

 

So where had Tsuna heard about Yousei?

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Movies**

 

Kyoya had no idea why he was here.

 

Or how the herbivores had convinced him to join them. (Kyoya suspected the baby omnivore had asked when Kyoya had still been half asleep. And those brown eyes.) For all that he didn’t like crowding, the skylark found himself trailing behind his herd as they chattered about the movie they were going to see.

 

Really, he should be biting them to death for skipping school again so soon.

 

“You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to, Kyoya-sempai,” the baby omnivore said quietly, falling into place next to Kyoya. Concern reflected in his brown eyes.

 

Kyoya surveyed those brown eyes carefully, searching for the darkness that often lingered after every run with the stupid wolf carnivore. It was there, like always, but the resolve that burned bright in Tsunayoshi’s eyes hadn’t dimmed. Good, that meant the baby omnivore was in a better place than he was three weeks ago.   

 

He looked forward to where the rest of his herd were waiting for them to catch up. Kyoya let out of a huff. “Hn, I go where I want, Tsunayoshi.”

 

Tsuna beamed brightly.

 

Kyoya was already indulging the baby omnivore. Might as well go the extra step and spoil him rotten.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Love me (Don’t leave)**

 

“Nari-kun, I brought you dinner for the day!” Nana sang as she entered the hospital room.

 

Ienari brightened at the presence of his mother. “Thanks, kaasan.”

 

Nana placed container after container on the table, all were filled with Ienari’s favorite foods. “How are you feeling dear?”

 

“Can’t feel much, they still have me on pain meds,” Ienari said honestly. “So nothing hurts at all.”

 

Nana nodded. “Good, good. The doctors said they didn’t feel comfortable releasing you for at least a month, but no more than three. They’re concerned about that head injury of yours and unless you want to be in a wheelchair, you’ll have to stay until that torn ligament is healed anyways. Once that’s healed the doctor said you can be on crutches while that fracture heals. But don’t worry kaasan will bring you lots of yummy food every day! And Reborn-kun has offered to keep you on track with your studies!”

 

‘See! She loves you more than Tsuna. She’s here after all taking care of you instead of cooking dinner for Tsuna. She’s spending time with you,’ a dark voice hissed in his head.

 

Ienari smiled at his mother. There was an edge of bitterness in it as a different, smaller, younger voice, one that sounded too much like his dame-brother, rang in his head.

 

‘So why does it always feel like she’s going to leave me behind?’

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Bedmate**

 

Tsuna walked back into his room to find Ayame fast asleep on his bed. It wasn’t such an unusual sight; before Reborn’s arrival it was fairly common to find her in his bed. In fact, when Sawada household was unavailable (which was never but Ayame had strange thoughts about boundaries) it wasn’t uncommon to find her crashing in any one of Tsuna’s friends’ houses. Kyoko and Ryohei’s couch, Takeshi’s closet, under Hana’s kitchen table and somewhere in Kyoya’s house (Tsuna never worked up the courage to ask where Ayame frequently slept) were all her favorite places to sleep.

 

Lately, though, she had been so busy (not to mention she seemed to be playing some sort of strange keep-away game with Reborn) that he hadn’t seen her in his bed since she came back from her business trip.

 

He supposed if she was risking to show up in Tsuna’s bed, Reborn’s presence or not, it spoke of how deeply she had been affected by Tsuna’s run in with Ienari.

 

Also, her showing up in his bed, show how bad her insomnia must be as well. Strange favorite sleeping places aside, Ayame didn’t start crashing at people’s houses until she started having trouble sleeping. Tsuna suspected since finding about Ienari’s attack on him, Ayame hadn’t slept since then. Thankfully, before the incident, Ryohei and Kyoko had managed to get her to sleep a few hours, but it had been another two days since that disastrous morning. ‘She’s pushing herself too hard,’ Tsuna grumbled mentally.

 

“Scoot over, neesan,” Tsuna whispered, nudging her gently.

 

Ayame rolled over, allowing Tsuna to slide into the empty slot she had left behind. By tomorrow morning, Ayame will undoubtedly be gone before Reborn could find her, but for now Tsuna was going to bask in the safety he found in her presence.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Trouble**

 

Reborn scowled as he read through the questions his student had answered. Truly, the boy was fairly well adjusted; certainly not going to go crazy at the drop of a pin. He was arrogant and manipulative, but no one was without their flaws. The original profile still held mostly true; Ienari was still a kind boy who would and he quoted, ‘Of course I would help someone pick up their stuff if I ran into them, Reborn. Yes, I would help old ladies across the street, Reborn’. Really, he was exactly as expected of a (proud, cruel, but _normal_ ) teenager of his age, if a little smarter.

 

However, Ienari was also more manipulative than Reborn had expected. It was like Ienari mixed up the intent of his actions somewhere along the way. He would do things out of the kindness of his heart (Ienari’s morals apparently did exist) and he acknowledged that it was the right thing to do, but he would follow up the response with things like ‘now they owe me’ or ‘it makes it easier to get closer to them’, as if he was stringing along people with his words, moving them to places where he wanted them to be. It was almost subconscious too. Ienari didn’t know what he was doing, or why (normal) people would consider it to be wrong.

 

But overall, Reborn hadn’t found any lies in Ienari’s answers.

 

So what was it about Tsuna that set Ienari off like that?

 

He glanced down at one of the questions he had slipped into personality test.

 

_“Dame-Ienari, if you had to save your kaasan or your niisan which one you save?”_

 

_“That’s easy Reborn. Kaasan of course.”_

 

_“Why not Tsuna?”_

 

_“Because Dame-Tsuna is nothing but **trouble**.” _

 

There was something in the intonation of word ‘trouble’. Like, Ienari had meant a different word, but couldn’t or wouldn’t place it, settling for something that implied trouble, but in context would mean completely different if it was substituted with the correct word.

 

Reborn growled. The mystery of the Sawada twins better make sense soon or he might end up killing someone.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Return to School**

 

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

 

Tsuna let out a squeak as Gokudera slammed his hands down on the brunet’s desk. He saw worry amidst the irritation in those brilliant sea gray eyes. His intuition hummed in satisfaction at Gokudera’s concern.

 

“S-sick?” Tsuna stammered out.

 

“All of you?” Gokudera snarled. “Because I checked, both Sasagawa siblings, the baseball idiot and Kurokawa, even Hibari were missing along with you.” His eyes narrowed. “Did something happen? Did someone get kidnapped?”

 

“N-no,” Tsuna rushed to reassure Gokudera. “Just a small accident and everyone was just worried.”

 

“Who got hurt?” Gokudera hissed. “Because no small accident cause all of you to miss school for the last two days!”

 

Tsuna had to give him that. The only time the entire group missed school was when Tsuna had run-ins with Ienari and came out a little… worse for wear. Everyone would drop what they were doing and immediately rushed over to Tsuna’s side, something he loved them for. Though he would prefer it that they wouldn’t worry so much about him. Their lives were equally important as his and they really shouldn’t make Tsuna the center of their universe, but well, Tsuna didn’t deny he enjoyed their attention.  

 

“Tsuna had a small run-in with Ienari,” Takeshi said, joining the conversation.

 

“ ** _What?_** ” Gokudera’s voice was dark and full of the promise to hurt someone.

 

Tsuna let out a soft, “Hiiiieeeee,” and shrunk into his desk.

 

“You’re scaring Tsuna,” Takeshi pointed out.

 

“Next time this happens, I want to know,” Gokudera demanded. He slapped down a piece of paper on Tsuna’s desk with his cellphone number.

 

Takeshi laughed, swinging his arm around Gokudera’s shoulder. "You do care about us, Gokudera-san!"

 

“Let go of me, you baseball idiot!”

 

Tsuna let out a small meep as Gokudera and Takeshi started fighting again. Oil and water those two were! “Guys,” he weakly protested, trying to break up their bickering.

 

“Hiieee! Gokudera-san please put away that dynamite!”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Increase by Two**

 

Kyoko and Ryohei were leisurely walking home. School was done for the day and Kyoko had stayed behind to cheer Ryohei on during his boxing practice. The sun hung low in the sky, painting the normally blue sky a beautiful shade of orange.  

 

“So Gokudera-san seems to be pretty attached to Tsuna-kun,” Kyoko said calmly.

 

“Octopus-head hasn’t proved himself to be extremely trustworthy yet,” Ryohei said. “But it has been nice that while Ienari was in school, he still came to hang out with us. That is extreme of him.”

 

“Reborn-san picked Tsuna-kun over Ienari too,” Kyoko said, humming.

 

“Do we trust both of them?” Ryohei asked, voicing the question that was on both of their minds.

 

Kyoko bit her lip. “Well, Tsuna-kun’s intuition is never wrong,” she said, full of faith. Her eyes narrowed, growing sharper. “I suppose we’ll never really know until Gokudera-san chooses and Reborn-san stops being Ienari’s tutor.” She then relaxed, letting the tension roll away before smiling brightly. “But in the meantime that means our group has increased by two, ne Oniisan?”

 

Ryohei laughed. “I extremely agree!”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Kakusu Hideki**

 

“Hmm, so the rumors are true. You are in the hospital.”

 

Ienari scowled at his newest visitor. Kakusu Hideki was once upon a time the beloved student council president of Namimori Middle. His movement up to the high school division was highlighted by the fact that Hibari Kyoya had established his Disciplinary Committee in Namimori Middle around the same time.

 

How exactly these two met was something neither ever commented upon, but if there was someone Ienari looked up to, Hideki-sempai was probably the person.

 

Hideki pushed his red rimmed glasses further up his nose. “Pray tell, what did you do to get yourself into this predicament?”

 

“None of your damn business!” Ienari snapped out.

 

“Tsk tsk,” Hideki said. “I thought I taught you that you draw more bees with honey than vinegar.”  

 

He took a seat at Ienari’s bedside and crossed his legs, leaning back. Sunlight glinting off his glasses, as a smile spread across his face. “Now tell me everything.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Ring**

 

Reborn hopped onto Tsuna’s bed, ready to wake up the boy for school. It read 4:45 in the morning, but Reborn had found that Tsuna really did rise with the sun and if Reborn wanted any fun in waking up Tsuna, he had to start even earlier.  

 

Before he could swing his Leon Hammer, he noticed the thin silver chain with a golden ring around Tsuna’s neck. Curious. Reborn hadn’t know that Tsuna had own such a piece of jewelry. It didn’t match him as Tsuna seemed to favor comfort and durability over fashion and accessories. He leaned closer to examine it just as Tsuna’s hand reached out to swipe at him. Reborn jumped back, Leon shifted into his gun form and Reborn fired. Tsuna rolled out of bed, dodging the bullet and slipping into a readied stance. Sleep melting away as Tsuna recognized that it was just Reborn; it had the brunet look at the hitman with wary concern. “Reborn?”

 

There was a burst of pride in Reborn. For all that Ienari was Captain of the Karate Club, he didn’t have the same ingrained reflexes that Tsuna clearly displayed. Reborn was starting to suspect the only reason why Tsuna continued to trip and stumble over everything was because the brunet kept overthinking. When Tsuna let himself move without thought, he was surprisingly graceful.

 

“Time to get up Dame-Tsuna,” Reborn said.

 

Tsuna looked at the clock, relaxing his stance. “It’s nearly five in the morning, Reborn,” Tsuna dryly remarked. Then in a softer voice he mumbled, “I was wondering why my Hyper Intuition didn’t react earlier. It’s just Reborn.”

 

What did that mean? Did that mean that despite the rude awakening Reborn had planned, it didn’t recognize Reborn as a potential threat? Perhaps because Reborn hadn’t come in with the intent to seriously hurt him? But Hyper Intuition could actually distinguish that? Reborn wasn’t sure to be irritated or pleased at that fact. He was leaning toward irritated. Then he thought about it and gleefully realized that if he was fast enough, he could have his fun waking up Tsuna and Tsuna would _never_ see it coming.

 

“I didn’t know you wore a ring,” Reborn pointed to the necklace, shifting the conversation.

 

“Hm?” Tsuna said, making his bed. “Oh. It was a birthday gift from Neesan.”

 

Who was Neesan? As far Reborn knew, there wasn’t anyone Tsuna referred to as Neesan in his group of friends. Another mystery Reborn was going to have to solve. Tsuna was confusing. It was annoying.

 

“Good morning Tsuna!”

 

Reborn peered out the window to see Ryohei standing out in the street.

 

“Ah, Oniisan is early today too,” Tsuna remarked. “It was a good thing you woke me up Reborn.” He quickly changed out of his pajamas and into a shirt and some sweatpants.

 

Reborn hopped onto Tsuna’s fluffy hair. He wanted to know more about Tsuna did in the morning. What better way than to tag along and see for himself. “Do you always run in the morning? With Ryohei?”

 

Tsuna nodded, pulling on his shoes. “Well, not every morning. But most mornings. It’s good exercise.”

 

Fascinating.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Crow**

 

There was a crow that was following them. Reborn was sure it was paranoia getting to him, but he could have swore he had seen that exact crow as they had left the Sawada household and again ten minutes later on Tsuna and Ryohei’s run. This was the third time and they were down by the river.

 

If it showed up a fourth time, Reborn was going to shoot it.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Broken Fairy Wing**

 

“Why on earth are you guys up so early?”

 

Ryohei and Tsuna slowed their jog to a stop as Gokudera stepped out of a shady looking shop and onto the empty street. “Good morning, Gokudera-san,” Tsuna greeted. What were the chances they were going to run into Gokudera on their run. It was shaping up to be a good morning. Tsuna even had a question he had been pondering about lately to ask Gokudera later.

 

“Octopus head!”

 

“Don’t call me that turf-top head! Good morning, Tsuna-san.”

 

“Gokudera,” Reborn said.

 

Gokudera took a step back in surprise as he noticed that Reborn was sitting on Tsuna’s head. “Reborn-san!”

 

“Ah,” Tsuna said. “You do know Reborn.” Tsuna had always known that, but it was nice to confirm it and not just what Hyper Intuition rang true.

 

Ryohei looked at Gokudera, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “So does that mean he’s here to play with Ienari the mafia game?” He took a subtle step forward to push Tsuna behind him.

 

Overprotective Oniisan!

 

“Shut up, turf-top head!” Gokudera snapped. Tsuna could practically see Gokudera’s hackles raised. “Just because I know Reborn-san doesn’t mean anything! I haven’t decided if I want to follow Jyuudaime or not! And why do you and that baseball idiot keep referring to it as a game?”

 

Ryohei looked at Tsuna with a confused expression.

 

Reborn decided to jump in. “Gokudera has been giving it some serious thought about becoming Tsuna’s bodyguard instead.”

 

Tsuna frowned. Bodyguard? “I don’t need a bodyguard.” He already had a full set, thank you very much. Any more overprotective mother hens and Tsuna won’t be able to breath. It didn’t matter how justified it was! “Can’t we just be friends, Gokudera-san?”  

 

Gokudera simply turned a bright red, buried his face in his hand and looked away.

 

“Extreme, octopus-head!” Ryohei exclaimed. “My apologies! I misjudged you! You can join the Protect Tsuna at All Cost Club! My otouto gets into a lot of trouble.”

 

“Oh? How interesting,” Reborn remarked.

 

Oh god, they still kept that name? How embarrassing. “I’m not that bad, Oniisan!” Tsuna protested.

 

“Kyoto Spring Trip,” Ryohei said.

 

Tsuna immediately shut up. Mentally, he wailed inside of his head. How long were they going to hold that against him? It wasn’t his fault!

 

Hyper Intuition rang a warning in his head. Tsuna immediately looked around, spotting three large burly men creeping in the shadows in the alleyway just a few feet away from them. Embroidered over their heart was the symbol of a broken fairy wing. A chill ran down Tsuna’s spine.

 

“What happened on the Kyoto Spring Trip?” Gokudera asked.

 

Tsuna didn’t answer him, instead grabbing Gokudera’s hand and pulling him into a run. Ryohei quickly followed after him, already calling Kyoya no doubt.

 

“Tsuna?” Reborn asked from his perch on Tsuna’s head.

 

“Broken fairy wing emblem,” Tsuna mumbled. “Not taking any chances.”

 

“What?” Gokudera said.

 

“I’ll treat you to breakfast at my house,” Tsuna said. “I got something I gotta ask you too. Oniisan, go help Kyoya-sempai.”

 

“But,” Ryohei said.

 

“I have Reborn and Gokudera with me,” Tsuna said. “And home is just around the corner. But knowing Kyoya-sempai, he won’t have any backup and I’m not taking any chances with this.” If Neesan was worried enough about the group to personally warn them about it, it wasn’t a group to be taken lightly.

 

Ryohei nodded. “Alright. I’m entrusting Tsuna to you two,” Ryohei said. “Keep him safe and don’t let him wander off by himself.”

 

“What is going on?” Gokudera asked as Ryohei turned back around.

 

“Broken fairy wing emblem,” Tsuna repeated. “What does Yousei translate to?”

 

“Bewitching spirit,” Reborn said. “Or fairy.”

 

“Yes,” Tsuna said. The Sawada house came into view. “It may be nothing, but Kyoya-sempai and Oniisan will look into it.” He ushered Gokudera into the house and followed in, locking the door. Reborn jumped off his head and to the ground.

 

Tsuna blinked. The kitchen was not empty as he had expected. Oh sure, his mother was cooking breakfast like away, but there was an additional guest in the kitchen. ‘Ah well, looks like the game is over.’

 

“Good morning, Neesan.”

 

It wasn’t often Tsuna got to see a rare stunned look on Ayame’s face.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Pooling Information**

 

This was Tsuna’s Neesan? Why hadn’t Reborn heard of her? Or recognize her for that matter. It had been over a month since his arrival in Namimori and today was the first time he met her. No, wait, the cake shop the other day. He had seen her then.

 

She was probably just Tsuna’s Neesan, given Ienari hadn’t mentioned her at all. By this point Reborn knew all of Ienari’s friends and acquaintances and which of them he would be likely to pick as his guardians. (Not that they were bad choices, but compared to Reborn’s preferred choices -all who have chosen Tsuna instead- they were just so small. None held a candle to the potential of Tsuna’s friends).  

 

Now why did she look so surprised to see them?

 

“You’re back early,” she commented.

 

“Is Ryohei-kun joining us for breakfast, Tsu-kun?” Nana asked. Her plate, a yellow striped plate and the white plate with blue moons were already drying on the dish rack.

 

Tsuna shook his head. “No. He went to meet up with Kyoya-sempai. But I brought back someone else. This is Gokudera Hayato. He’s from Italy. He transferred to my school a few weeks back.”

 

“Good morning, Ma’am!” Gokudera said with a bow. “Good morning Ayame-san. I didn’t know you came to the Sawada house for breakfast.”

 

Reborn eyed the young woman with suspicion. Ayame huh? When had Gokudera met her?

 

“I come whenever I can. Which isn’t often enough,” Ayame said. She cradled the blue cup with a stylish K logo on it.

 

“That isn’t your usual cup, Neesan,” Tsuna remarked, guiding a very lost looking Gokudera into an empty seat.

 

Reborn hopped into his own seat. Nana handed Tsuna his own plate and placed one in front of Reborn.

 

“Ne, Gokudera-kun. What do you want to eat for breakfast?” Nana asked.

 

“I couldn’t,” Gokudera replied.

 

“I insist Gokudera-kun!” The growling emitted from Gokudera’s stomach did nothing but fuel Nana on.

 

Reborn tuned that conversation out as Ayame took a sip of her tea. There was a far more interesting character at the breakfast table today to pay attention to.

 

“It isn’t my usual cup because my usual cup broke. Again,” Ayame sighed. She gave Tsuna a look that clearly read to Reborn, _‘Stop getting into trouble, Tsuna.’_

 

Reborn blinked. What did that mean? What did Tsuna getting into trouble have to do with a broken cup? Ah, there was the superstition about broken cups being bad omens. Did stuff like that actually happen?

 

“Sorry, Neesan,” Tsuna said, holding up his hands in surrender.

 

She let out a small huff, but let the conversation lie. “Why is Ryohei meeting Kyoya anyways?” Ayame asked. “It isn’t often those two hang out and Kyoya never asks for help.”

 

“We saw some guys wearing a broken fairy wing emblem over their chest,” Tsuna said.

 

Ayame choked. “What?!” She reached across the table. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Tsuna reassured her. “I had Gokudera-san and Reborn with me. I sent Oniisan back to help Kyoya-sempai. You were worried about the group and I didn’t want Kyoya-sempai to go on alone.”

 

“You know about that group too?” Reborn asked, cutting into the conversation.

 

Golden eyes zeroed in on Reborn. He got the feeling that he was being judged under their stare. Reborn stood firm, staring back.

 

It broke as Tsuna said, “Neesan was the one who told me about Yousei, Reborn.”

 

This was the source of Tsuna’s (and probably Hibari’s) intel? But how did she get said intel? Reborn hadn’t found anything after all. He may not be an information broker like Viper, but it wasn’t like he was unskilled. But this girl was skilled enough to find the name of a group that for all intentions did not yet exist?

 

“How did you hear about them?” Reborn asked.

 

Ayame waved her hand. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with Reborn _-chan_.”

 

Reborn felt a wave of irritation washed over him. If there was something good about the weirdness of Namimori, it was the oddest people seemed to be aware he wasn’t a small child despite his appearance. Reborn wasn’t sure what Tsuna had told his friends, but they all seemed to treat him with respect of an adult. Reborn hadn’t told Nana, and she knew (and he still hadn’t discovered how she had figured out about Iemitsu and the mafia in general). Yet here was someone who knew Tsuna and was treating him like a child?

 

Tsuna frowned. “Neesan. That wasn’t very nice. You should apologize to Reborn.”

 

Ayame merely pouted.

 

“Neesan,” Tsuna said.

 

Ayame huffed and turned back to Reborn. “My apologizes, Reborn-san. I’m only teasing. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to answer your question.”

 

Reborn felt his muscles twitch and Leon was already switching into his gun mode. He would have shot if Tsuna hadn’t reached over to place a hand over Leon.

 

“Reborn,” Tsuna warned in the same tone he had just scolded Ayame with.

 

Leon transformed back and crawled back to his spot on Reborn’s hat while Reborn scowled. “I don’t like you,” Reborn told Ayame.

 

Ayame merely smiled, but Reborn could read the wickedness hidden behind it. “I assure you, Reborn-san, it’s completely mutual.”

 

Tsuna groaned. “I’m going to regret introducing you two to each other, aren’t I?”

 

“Yes.”

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Arrival**

 

A pink haired woman stepped out airport, pulling along her luggage behind her. She put on a pair of sunglasses and looked up at the sunlit blue sky. With a loving sigh, she said, “Reborn darling, I’ve come to take you home.”

 

Poison Scorpion Bianchi had arrived in Japan.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**The Calm Before the Storm**

 

A small Chinese girl was thrown into a tiny steel cage, unconscious. She had been badly beaten; her body covered in black and blue bruises.

 

"Why the hell were you so rough with her?! That's precious merchandise!"

 

"Feisty brat knew how to fight. Threw some gyoza all over the place. A damn pain in the ass."

 

"Fuck. Well get some restraints on her. Once she's all healed, we'll start cutting her up."

 

"She better be worth a fortune for all the trouble she was getting."

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Burning Question**

 

Tsuna bit his lip as he steadily worked through the math problem in front of him. After dinner was finished, Reborn had dragged him off for more homework tutoring while Nana headed to the hospital to visit Ienari with dinner.

 

That left Tsuna alone in the house with Reborn. Tsuna didn’t mind it. Reborn was… well Tsuna didn’t have a word to really describe it, but he did like spending time with Reborn. There was something deep inside him, not his intuition, but something else, that purred in contentment at spending time with Reborn. He was aware enough that he enjoyed Reborn’s sole attention, though he could do without the bullets and explosions. (Said bullets and explosions made Tsuna pity Ienari just a little for having to live with it constantly. At least Tsuna only had to deal with it for a few mornings and only during tutoring.)

 

Reborn really was an excellent tutor, questionable tutoring methods aside. He explained it a clear and concise manner, making the often confusing math and science subjects that Tsuna always struggled with easy to understand.

 

“Done!” Tsuna said proudly, handing Reborn the sheet.

 

“Not bad,” the hitman said. “You’re getting faster.”

 

Tsuna preened from the slight compliment. That was when Hyper Intuition crackled a warning at him. It wasn’t the usual danger warnings that Tsuna got, but rather the signal of something unpleasant (but not life-threatening or even dangerous or necessarily bad) was going to happen. Tsuna usually got this feeling before receiving bad news like a parent teacher conference or when his classmates were going to play a particular nasty prank on him. Tsuna looked at Reborn who had his fedora tugged down, hiding his face from view. “Reborn?” Tsuna asked hesitantly.

 

Reborn looked at him, staring straight into his eyes. “Tsuna, I held off for a week to ask, but will you tell me now what happened between you and Ienari?”

 

Tsuna froze; a chill running down his spine. Of course it would have been too much to hope that Reborn would have left the sleeping lion lie. Nausea rolled in his stomach as the memories bubbled to the surface. He could change the subject or even lie, anything to avoid discussing this.

 

Reborn, no doubt reading his mind, reached out and placed his tiny hand on Tsuna’s knee. “Tsuna, please,” Reborn asked seriously.  

 

Tsuna flinched, as the urge to run away shriveled up and faded away. He was terrible at denying requests and Reborn was asking and Tsuna supposed Reborn should know, if only to understand Ienari a little bit better. Tsuna just hated talking about it, hated remembering far Ienari had pushed and pushed and pushed.

 

Reborn had asked.

 

Tsuna could try.

 

“Okay.”

 

Outside a crow landed on the balcony rail.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha. So Reborn and Ayame finally meet, a look into Ienari's head, Yousei is a growing threat and Reborn finally asked the question that has everyone wondering. We're finally progressing!


	5. Yousei Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** Child Endangement/Kidnapping
> 
>  **Warnings:** Anxiety/Panic Attacks
> 
> –starry eyed- You guys are amazing. No, really. I'm blown away by how many of you like it this story. It's amazing, I'm really touched. You guys make my day with your kind words and encouragement and I'm just floored. You guys are awesome. Don't stop being awesome okay?
> 
> Also, what did the crow do to you guys?! It's innocent I tell you! Innocent!

**Rooftop**

_-Ten Hours Earlier-_

Ryohei landed on the rooftop of the small two story building. Kyoya was already standing at the edge, peering down at the street. The prefect’s jacket flapping in the wind. His tonfas out, shining in the sunlight.

“Do you see them?” Ryohei asked softly, very uncharacteristic for the boxer.

“Hn,” Kyoya said, gesturing to the building. A silver bracelet around his wrist glittered in the sunlight. “He entered that building.”

Luckily for them, the group of three men were still lurking in the shadows by the time Kyoya and Ryohei had arrived to where Ryohei and Tsuna had seen them. Kyoya merely scowled at Ryohei’s appearance, but otherwise didn’t protest. It was more important to find out about Yousei. The lack of information was troubling. Ryohei knew the very idea of a group that went around kidnapping children in Namimori of all places made Kyoya’s blood boil.

“Do we sneak in?” Ryohei asked.

“There’s no need. Alaude is already inside. He was extremely impatience.”

Ryohei turned around to see Knuckle standing behind him. The first generation Sun Guardian was transparent in the sunlight, unseen to all but Kyoya and Ryohei.

“Knuckle-san!” Ryohei greeted.

“Hello Ryohei,” Knuckle said. “Giotto mentioned in last visit back home that there was a dangerous group of criminals running around and that you were having trouble tracking them down. That, of course, got Alaude interested.”

Kyoya, of course, merely grumbled, but didn’t say anything.

“To the extreme!” Ryohei said. “We appreciate the help!”

There was extremely nice to be able to rely on the help of ghosts. The bad guys won’t know what hit them!

—————————————

**Sunny Day**

Ryohei was ten when he met Tsuna.

It was a bright and sunny day, full of energy and extremeness. Ryohei had been in the forest, doing laps because it was very extreme to stay in shape! He needed to be strong in order protect Kyoko! That meant training!

He had been on his fifth lap before a boy with brown hair literally came out of nowhere, flying into him. “Watch out!” the boy had shouted.

All Ryohei saw was orange flames before the boy crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

“Are you alright?!” the boy shouted. “Knuckle-san! Can you heal him?”

Ryohei blinked, wondering if the boy had hit his head. There was no one else in the forest after all. Perhaps a head injury? Those were serious! Kyoko often warned him about those. Ryohei winced, feeling the scraped elbows and cuts on his legs from the fall.

“Don’t move,” the boy said. “Knuckle-san will heal those up.”

Strange boy. Ryohei still didn’t see anyone else in the forest. He peered closer. The boy looked familiar. “Who are you?” Ryohei asked.

“Ah!” The boy bowed. “I’m Sawada Tsunayoshi. I’m really sorry for running into you. I didn’t mean to.”

Ryohei grinned. “It’s okay! I’m Sasagawa Ryohei! Who are you talking to Sawada-san?”

Sawada flushed a bright red. “Ah… a ghost? Knuckle-san is a ghost, but he can heal your injuries up.”

Before Ryohei could ask about how a ghost could heal wounds, he noticed the pain he had been feeling earlier was now gone. “The cuts are gone,” Ryohei said in amazement, flexing his hands and examining his legs. “How did you do that?”

Sawada winced and covered his ears as if he was listening to something noisy. “I’m sorry, Sasagawa-sempai. Could you repeat that? They’re making a racket and I can’t hear you very well over the noise.”

Ryohei laughed. Ghosts could be noisy? “THAT’S EXTREMELY RUDE OF THEM,” Ryohei shouted back.

Sawada let loose a weak chuckle. “Not that loud, sempai.”

That was how Ryohei met Tsuna.

—————————————

**Friendly Ghosts**

To be honest, Tsuna had been expecting to never see Giotto again after their trip into the Spirit World, especially after Giotto had explained that he was a ghost and not alive. (A fact Tsuna surprisingly took better than he thought. Maybe because he knew Giotto was a safe person?) So he was surprised when a few months later Giotto managed to show up at his school.

Tsuna was ecstatic because Giotto was another friend, even if he wasn’t alive and no one could see him but Tsuna. That made three friends Tsuna had now. (Giotto-nii’s advice for being Hibari-sempai’s friend worked. Hibari-sempai didn’t growl at him when Tsuna sat to eat lunch on the rooftop with him anymore!)

Then Giotto introduced him to his friends (even his scary friend who wasn’t nearly as scary Giotto made him to be. Alaude-san was super nice!). Tsuna had even more friends! It was so amazing how different his life was now.

Tsuna once asked Ayame why Giotto could come and visit him, because Ayame was smart and she knew all of these things, and had gotten a long explanation involving spiritual energy, rings, flames and intersecting planes. Needless to say all Tsuna got from that conversation was that Giotto could visit whenever he wanted and for however long he wanted, but it was all dependent on the energy Giotto had. It took energy for Giotto to come visit and for Tsuna to be able to see him and when he ran out of energy, he had to go back to the spirit world to recharge. So Giotto could stay for a few days, then leave for a few more, then come back. Rinse, lather, repeat! Every time, Giotto came back, he brought one of his friends until Tsuna had met them all.

Well, no, Giotto said one was missing, had been for years, but whoever Mist was, Tsuna was sure he would meet him eventually.

Then there were flames. More specifically, orange flames. The memory of Giotto’s flames, so similar to the same ones Tsuna had summoned before, had stayed with Tsuna, burning bright in his mind. One day, Tsuna had asked Giotto to teach him how to use them.

“Why do you want to learn, Tsuna?” Giotto asked, curious.

Tsuna shuffled his feet. “Hibari-sempai is strong. So is Neesan. But Kaasan can’t fight. Neither can I. Want to protect them.” Then, as Tsuna stared down at his feet, he quietly added, “Don’t want Ienari to hurt them like he hurts me.”

“Oh, Tsuna.”

That was what led them to the practicing every day in the forest. It was a nice forest, far away from everyone else. That meant no one would stumble across Tsuna practicing his flames. Until a white haired boy came running by at the exact moment Tsuna had pushed a little too much flames out of his hands and went flying straight into said boy.

“Tsuna!”

—————————————

**Noisy Worry**

For Giotto, no matter what G said, he hadn’t meant to get attached to Tsuna. He was a ghost! Dead! It didn’t matter how he was related to Tsuna, it wasn’t like Giotto could just waltz into the physical world and interact with Tsuna.

Until he found out, that yes, he could.

After several lectures and long conversations with his guardians and a few more with Tsuna’s Neesan (who later would introduce herself as Ayame), Giotto eventually mastered the technique that allowed him to visit Tsuna. It was actually fairly simple in theory and in practice, but the amount of preparation required was staggering, involving a miko and a priest, about three hundred paper wards, spells and prayers, and a couple offerings to several local gods so Giotto wouldn’t be eaten alive for hanging out in the physical world so often. However! It was a one-time thing that maybe needed to be redone every two or three decades and applied to all of Giotto’s guardians too.

So worth it.

Giotto would later find out that the only reason why so much preparation was required was because technically his soul (and his guardians’ souls) were tied the Vongola Rings all the way in Italy and for them to want to materialize in a non-spiritually charged area like Namimori all the way in Japan, it was a headache in itself. If Giotto had been a normal ghost, no one would have batted an eyelash if Giotto had wanted to visit the physical world.

Either way, so worth it to see Tsuna’s face light up like a Christmas tree when he saw Giotto.

Of course, there was a saying that ignorance was bliss and never had such a statement rang true for Giotto. Oh Ayame had tried to warn him, tried to tell him that Tsuna was not living a happy life right now and Giotto knew, he just didn’t know how bad it was.

History was repeating again, only this time much worse and once more Giotto was helpless to stop it.

What he found in Namimori was… well Giotto didn’t have words for it these days. And he often spent his time away from Tsuna, stopping Alaude (actually all of his guardians with the exception of the still missing Daemon) from going on a rampage. If Giotto wasn’t allowed to hurt the people hurting Tsuna, none of his guardians were either!

(Nobody said anything about haunting them though, and if a few people found their furniture rearranged, paperwork gone missing, tripping over invisible things, or burst water pipes, that was between Giotto and his guardians. And they were very careful to make sure that none of it could be connected with Tsuna. No need to add more rumors.)

So right. Namimori, strange place. Giotto’s feelings about Ienari were equally mixed. On one hand, Ienari was also his descendant, but look at how he treated Tsuna! That made Giotto’s blood boil. Ienari couldn’t see him either way and while Giotto could expend a bit more energy to allow Ienari to see him, Giotto much rather spend his time with Tsuna.

He was biased, damnit, but Tsuna clearly needed him more!

So it hadn’t been a real surprise when Tsuna asked him to train him on how to use his Sky Flames. In fact Giotto had been expecting it. Still, he wanted to know why Tsuna wanted to learn.

“Why do you want to learn, Tsuna?” Giotto asked, curious. He wanted to hear Tsuna’s reasoning.

Tsuna shuffled his feet. “Hibari-sempai is strong. So is Neesan. But Kaasan can’t fight. Neither can I. Want to protect them.” Then, as Tsuna stared down at his feet, he quietly added, “Don’t want Ienari to hurt them like he hurts me.”

“Oh, Tsuna.” If Giotto had any reservations (which he didn’t really, if anything, it was mostly due to Tsuna’s young age), they collapsed in an instant. So alright, G was right. Tsuna had Giotto wrapped around his tiny finger and Giotto showered as much love as he could on the small little boy.

But if Tsuna was going to learn how to control his Sky Flames, Giotto was going to take every precaution possible. This was why Knuckle often accompanied them on their training trips. It was a good thing too, because Tsuna just went flying, slamming into another boy.

“Tsuna!”

—————————————

**Doppelganger**

If Knuckle hadn’t seen how Giotto was as a father the first time around, he would have thought his friend was being just a tad overprotective. But that was simply Giotto’s nature. So in good cheer, Knuckle didn’t have any complaints when Giotto dragged him along for Tsuna’s training. In fact, had Knuckle been more like Daemon, he would have been unbearably smug that he got to spend more time with Tsuna then the rest of the guardians, all who were pretty attached to the small brunet. (It was a good thing Knuckle wasn’t like Daemon, at all.)

Apparently, Tsuna gave Giotto a boost of energy by being the same flame type as him, allowing Giotto to stay longer than the rest of the guardians. It was extremely unfair. Then Alaude discovered Tsuna’s friend Hibari had Cloud Flames and Tsuna, of course, taught Hibari how to access them and then introduced Hibari to Alaude. It had been frightening to say, how similar the two were. In fact, Knuckle was convinced that Hibari was one of Alaude’s descendants as well.

Seeing his potential, Alaude went to teach Hibari everything he knew about Cloud Flames, fighting, and justice. Giotto facepalmed, Tsuna worried that he just taught and introduce his friend to someone who make Hibari even more scary and dangerous (to everyone else) and once more Knuckle thought it was very very extremely unfair. When was he going to find his very own look-alike student to teach?

But at least Knuckle got to spend time with Tsuna. Days like these made Knuckle extremely glad he came along with Giotto.

“Tsuna!” Giotto rushed over to the collision of the two boys. He fretted over the two boys, invisible to one, visible to the other. “Are you alright?”

As clearly evident that Giotto was rubbing off on Tsuna, Tsuna ignored him and went straight to fretting over the boy Tsuna had crashed into. “Are you alright? Knuckle-san! Can you heal him?”

Knuckle was already on his way over, kneeling down to examine the white haired boy. “Of course Tsuna. Have him hold still for me.”

“Don’t move,” Tsuna instructed the boy. “Knuckle-san will heal those up.”

“Are you okay Tsuna?” Giotto asked.

Tsuna nodded before he turned his attention back to the boy who asked who he was.

“Ah!” Tsuna said with a bow. “I’m Sawada Tsunayoshi. I’m really sorry for running into you. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay! I’m Sasagawa Ryohei! Who are you talking to Sawada-san?” the boy introduced himself.

Knuckle let his flames die down, satisfied that he had healed everything.

“Knuckle don’t forget to look over Tsuna,” Giotto said. Worry was clearly reflected in his light orange eyes.

“Of course I will, Giotto,” Knuckle said, amused. “You are being very extremely overprotective.”

Giotto sputtered. “What! Nonsense! I’m not being overprotective at all!”

Knuckle smiled. “You did the same thing to Yoshimune and Hidetada when they were growing up. In fact, you continued to do so even after they had grown up. Don’t worry. It is extremely enduring.” Such fond memories.

“Knuckle! I did no such thing!”

Their conversation broke as the boy, Ryohei, shouted, “THAT’S EXTREMELY RUDE OF THEM.”

Knuckle merely chuckled. It seemed like Tsuna had found another friend.

—————————————

**Status Update**

_-Nine Hours Earlier-_

Ryohei fidgeted. Knuckle had entered the building to get a status update from Alaude who was still inside. Next to him Kyoya had taken a seat and appeared to be sleeping but Ryohei knew better. The prefect was keeping a sharp eye on the building below, ready to move on a moment’s notice.

In a burst of yellow flames, Knuckle reappeared. “Alaude said it is all quiet in there. The men you followed here have met up with three more, but they don’t appear to be doing anything. It doesn’t look like this is their hideout.”

Ryohei let out a disappointed sigh. “I guess that means we are extremely waiting for them to move then.”

“Get comfortable,” Kyoya said. “We can’t afford to lose them this time.”

—————————————

**Updated Information**

_-Eight Hours Earlier-_

Tsuna sat across from Ayame. Once breakfast had finished, Reborn and Nana left for the hospital and errands while Ayame accompanied Tsuna and Gokudera (picking up Takeshi on the way) to school. Only once they made it past the school gates, she pushed Gokudera onto Takeshi and dragged Tsuna off to an empty classroom.

They had been staring at each other since.

Finally, Tsuna decided to break the silence. “Neesan, that was mean what you did to Reborn this morning. You wouldn’t like being treated like a child if you were in his shoes,” Tsuna scolded.

Ayame, of course, sulked. “I don’t like him.”

Tsuna threw up his arms. “What don’t you like about him? You’re the one who said he could be trusted. Hyper Intuition confirmed that!”

Ayame snorted. “Just because I said he could be trusted, doesn’t mean I have to like him.”

“Neesan!” Tsuna let out a long suffering sigh. “Is this because he’s a hitman? Or because he is in the mafia? I really don’t think you have any leg to stand on for that issue.”

Ayame scowled. “What do you mean?”

“The Island of Sinapri.”

Ayame drew in a sharp breath. “How do you know that?” she demanded. “I burned all that information! There isn’t a record of that anywhere!”

Tsuna gave her a flat look. “Yeah, but there are still a couple people who remember that incident.”

“But when did you meet them?!” Ayame slumped over the wooden desk, burying her head in her arms. “Oh, never mind. That’s a stupid question. I think I taught you a little too well,” she bemoaned. Then she looked up defensively. “That was not my fault! They were a bunch of idiots! And everyone who remembers that is overreacting!”

Tsuna’s eyebrow quirked upward. His arms crossed over his chest, radiating in disbelief. “Really? Overreacting?”

“I was ten! I’m allowed to be a moody preteen!”

Tsuna just shook his head and let the issue rest. If she didn’t want to tell him why she didn’t like Reborn, Tsuna was never going to get it out of her. That was alright. Ayame would tell him, eventually. She usually did at least. Prying information from her before she was ready to share was usually an impossible task.

“So why did you drag me off to here, Neesan?” Tsuna asked. With any luck, Ayame and Reborn would stay far away from each other. Though, knowing both of their personalities, there were going to be many confrontations in the future.

Ayame unwound and relaxed. She handed Tsuna a thin manila folder. “I figured it would be a good time to update you on everything. There’s been a lot going on.”

Tsuna took the folder, flipping it open to skim through the information. As always, Ayame’s information was well organized and detailed. He paused halfway through the folder and pulled out a picture of an older man with salt and pepper colored hair and a long beard. A firm frown on his face and narrow black eyes were hidden behind a pair of round glasses.

“Doctor Souma Kinkan. A license surgeon over in the Minato Ward of Tokyo,” Tsuna read. “This is…”

“First suspect as the mastermind behind Yousei,” Ayame finished. “Of course, there isn’t absolute proof. Just when surveying the entire population of people within the neighboring cities and cross referencing all the information we found so far, he does seem to be a likely suspect. Flip the page.”

Tsuna did so; it was a medical report. His brown eyes quickly scanned over it, absorbing the information. “A two year old granddaughter, Titania? That’s an odd choice for a name.”

“In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the queen of fairies is called Titania,” Ayame said.

Tsuna’s eyes narrowed at the additional fairy reference. “It says here that his granddaughter was born with a weak heart. And she received an organ transplant six months ago.”

“She wasn’t even first on the transplant list,” Ayame said quietly. “In fact, due to her young age and the fact that majority of organ transplants are from adults, she probably wouldn’t have received one for a long time. With her condition, though, she would have never made it to adulthood. Probably wouldn’t have lasted the year.”

Tsuna felt a wave of sympathy towards the little girl before he realized what exactly Ayame was implying. “How did she get her heart then?”

“Good question,” Ayame said with a hum. “ Reports claim Dr. Kinkan performed the operation and he claims the heart was an anonymous donation specifically for his granddaughter. But you know it’s quite a coincidence considering it coincides with the very first report I have of a missing child who just so happens to be a perfect match to young Titania. A doctor ordering medical equipment isn’t going to raise any flags, so that’s probably why I haven’t picked up on it before.”

Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut at the dawning horror growing within him. “Yousei isn’t a child slavery gang, they are an organ harvesting plant.”

“One that specializes in children’s organs,” Ayame agreed. “That’s what it looks like. They take kids who won’t be missed, hence why they’re targeting homeless kids or teens like Gokudera-san who appears to be living by themselves. The organs themselves are hard to come by. Add in the extra size consideration needed for kids…”

Nausea rocked in Tsuna’s stomach. This was hitting a little too close to home for comfort. “Oh god,” Tsuna said, feeling sick.

Ayame gave him a sympathetic look. “He might not be the mastermind behind it, but he could connected, willing or blackmail. A licensed surgeon, a granddaughter desperate for a new heart, medical equipment. It’s a good setup. I was going to give this file to Kyoya after I informed you. The problem is that I’m not 100% sure if he is connected. I don’t want to focus on this guy to find out he has no connection to Yousei. I mean I’m basing this off a fairy theme connection and a mysterious organ donation. That really isn’t much to go on. Just grasping at straws here. The lack of information is very troubling. Either they’re writing in code, relying on verbal communication only, or hiding everything in plain sight like a doctor ordering medical equipment, but I can’t find it. And that frustrates me.”

For Ayame to be unable to find any information, that was indeed troubling. Be paper or electronic files, Tsuna had never seen anything Ayame was unable to find. Yousei was either very smart or a walking disaster of organization skills. Neither bold well. The former meant they were extremely dangerous because they were careful. The latter meant they were reckless.

“The only thing I can say for sure, if that with the exception of the first child that went missing, the one that’s a perfect match to Titania, none of the missing children I have tracked have turned up dead,” Ayame said with a heavy sigh.

There was some comfort in that.

Tsuna frowned. Why was life so cruel? “Hey Neesan,” he asked slowly. “When is…?”

“We got a couple more years to go,” Ayame admitted.

“It would solve so many problems,” Tsuna said so softly.

“Yes, it would,” Ayame agreed. Her golden eyes closed; a tired expression appeared on her face. “But it’s something that can’t be rushed.”

“Start with Dr. Kinkan,” Tsuna ordered. “We don’t have enough leads as is, we should chase down anything we find suspicious.”

Tsuna looked down at the picture of toddler Titania and sighed. What a mess this group was turning out to be. At this point, all Tsuna could do was hope for the best.

—————————————

**Blank Profile**

_-Seven Hours Ago-_

When Reborn put out the request for all information pertaining to Ayame, he was impressed when his informants returned with a profile nearly an hour later. Until he opened the file and realized the reason why they were so fast was because there was no information.

 **Name:** Ayame Kumori (Last name unconfirmed, multiple different ones have been given out. Kumori is the most frequent)

 **Age:** 20

 **Address:** 135-543, Hisakata, Namimori-Shi

 **Occupation:** Unknown. Several claims to be a businesswoman of some sort. Owns the apartment building that housed popular cake/cafe shop Lucky Cat Cafe.

 **Education:** Unknown.

 **Family:** Unknown.

 **Hobbies:** Unknown.

The rest of the profile was just a list of unconfirmed or unknown information. So all Reborn had learned was her age and address, since they couldn’t even confirm her last name. Kumori, shadow or cloudy weather. A fitting alias, given how she seemed to exist in the shadows only and appear to be shielding and protecting Tsuna like the rest of his friends. She must get along fabulously with Hibari.

He looked down at the last note on the profile.

Note: Unable to find a birth certificate, medical records, education records, bank records or anything. The earliest mention anyone can remember of Ayame Kumori was five years ago when she bought the apartment building that houses Lucky Cat Cafe which, at the time was slated for foreclosure.

Five years ago. Tsuna would have been eight at that time. Ayame herself would have been fifteen (could he even trust that she was actually twenty? She looked around that correct age, but if everything else couldn’t be confirmed about her, Reborn doubted he could trust it). Primo had met Tsuna when Tsuna was nine, and Reborn had been able to confirm that Tsuna met Sasagawa siblings and Kurokawa sometime before or after Tsuna’s tenth birthday, and Yamamoto a few months after that.

No clue when Tsuna met Hibari, but it was highly probable that it was early, which left Hibari or Ayame as one of the first friends Tsuna made. Reborn made a note of that. It could help him in his search in figuring out what had happened between Tsuna and Ienari. If Reborn couldn’t convince Tsuna to tell him tonight, Reborn would have to ask one of those two. (His pride could suffer the blow of asking. It was better than not knowing. He would make them tell him.)

Still, the lack of information on Ayame was annoying. No information before five years ago. Impossible. What was she? A ghost?

—————————————

**Charm**

_-Six Hours Earlier-_

“Gokudera-san! Please take this!”

Gokudera stared at the flat blue charm being held out to him by Tsuna. Written on the soft material pouch were the kanji for good luck and protection. “Why?” he asked warily.

“For good luck,” Tsuna said firmly. “I’m worried those guys will come back and target you. It’s just a little charm, but please carry with you in the mean time?”

Gokudera warmed at the concern. It was just a little charm. No harm in carrying it.

“Okay.”

—————————————

**Lullaby**

Rock a bye baby on the treetop

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

—————————————

**Koujin Fuun**

_-Five Hours Later-_

“Che. This is why you canceled our weekly spar?”

Ienari let out a snort. “What do you want brat? And did you seriously climb in through the window? I’m on the fourth floor!”

Sitting on the windowsill, twirling a kunai around his finger sat a boy with dark purple hair and striking crimson eyes. Fuun had met Ienari at one of his karate competitions. Despite not being a practitioner, Fuun had entered the competition as a test of his skill. Needless to say, within the confines of the rules of the tournament, Ienari had won against Fuun who was used to a more free-flowing style.

Fuun flung his kunai, piercing the flower petals in the vase next to Ienari’s bed and burying them in the white wall. “Climbing windows is easy when you’re me. I didn’t think you were this weak. Seriously, injured this badly by a training accident.”

Ienari glared at him. “When you have a hellspawn for a tutor that regularly fires bullets at you, it’s surprising I’m not hurt more.”

Fuun smirked. “Sounds interesting.”

“That’s Reborn for you,” Ienari said with a wave of his hand.

Fuun’s eyes lit up. “You know Reborn?”

—————————————

**Poison Cooking**

_-Four Hours Later-_

Nana hummed as she stepped back into the hospital with Ienari’s dinner. The hospital food was very bland here and she disapproved of it. How were people supposed to recover if the food tasted horrible?

A pink haired nurse approached her. “Sawada-san? The doctor is checking on your son right now. You won’t be able to see him, but I can give him the dinner you made for him.”

Nana blinked before smiling brightly. “Ara? Then please do!” She handed over the red bento box she had packed with Ienari’s dinner.

The nurse returned her smile and accepted it. “Have a good night, Sawada-san!” She quickly left, leaving Nana standing in the lobby area of the hospital.

“Mamma.”

Nana looked down to see Reborn standing next to her. “Ah, Reborn-san! Did you follow me here?”

Reborn nodded. “You do know who that woman is right?” he asked.

Nana hummed. She actually did. Ayame’s information was, as always, spot on. “That was Poison Scorpion Bianchi.”

Reborn stared up at her. Nana thought maybe she saw surprise in the black eyes of the small hitman. “And you’re alright with letting her take food to Ienari, knowing she’s mostly likely going to try and poison him?” Reborn asked.

“It will be a good lesson for Ienari. After all, if he’s going to become Decimo, assassins are going to come after him all the time, yes?” Nana said. There came a time when every child had to leave the nest. Nana had been preparing for the inevitable; that one day she was going to permanently lose one of her sons, and she did not through death. That was the dark world of the mafia. If Tsuna had been chosen to be Decimo, he would never leave her behind because he could never abandon her the same way Iemitsu had. However the fallout between him and Ienari would cause Ienari to leave god knows where. In Ienari’s case, he was growing to be more like his father each day and when he became Decimo, he would leave her to “protect” her like Iemitsu had. Her silly boys.

She wouldn’t be able to protect either of her sons forever. So the best she could do was prepare them and teach them the lessons they needed to survive.

Looking back down at Reborn, Nana smiled. “Plus, you’re going to stop her before she does anything too serious to Nari-kun.” It was not a question, but a simple fact. The faith and trust Tsuna had in Reborn spoke very loudly of Reborn’s character. Regardless of the rift between her boys, Nana could trust that Reborn would do what he deemed best for Ienari and Tsuna.

Reborn tugged at his fedora. “Of course Mamma.”

—————————————

**Kyaaa**

_-Three Hours Earlier-_

Ayame picked a package of Kinga’s Chocolate Chip Cookies off of the shelf, skimming the prices of the other products on the shelf. What else was on sale?

She wandered over to another aisle, spotting some inarizushi on display on a brown table. A large red sale sign immediately caught her attention. With a happy smile, she skipped over to pick up some inarizushi up. It was her favorite food and finding it on sale was always a bonus. Or! If she found some aburaage instead, maybe she could beg Nana to make inarizushi for her instead because Nana’s food was to die for.

Maybe she would just buy both. Or she could go buy from Takesushi. Tsuyoshi was just as excellent cook as Nana was after all. That would require even less energy! Energy was important. Hmm, but Takesushi wasn’t nearby so perhaps she should just buy some now to eat and tomorrow ask Nana and Tsuyoshi for inarizushi.

Ten minutes later, she walked out of Kinga Market, whistling a jaunty tune. The ‘Kyaa’ of a crow caught her attention. Ayame stopped mid-stride, peering up at the large oak tree. Sitting there among the green foliage was a crow.

Ayame let out a soft sigh. “I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later.”

—————————————

**Thunderclouds**

_-Two Hours Earlier-_

A small boy in cow print hopped out of the airport. Nothing was going to stop him from hunting down Reborn!

Look out Namimori. The great Lambo-sama had arrived!

—————————————

**Bridge**

A few blocks away from the Sawada household was a bridge. It was a simple concrete bridge over a very steep ravine. The small river at the bottom flowed throughout the city, bubbling and trickling. Small birds often built their nests in the shadow of this strong bridge.

It was also the most direct route to Namimori Middle School.

Tsuna always avoided it.

—————————————

**Yousei**

_-One Hour Earlier-_

Black shoes tapped against the white hallway floor. A door swung open, revealing rows of beds with unconscious children on them. EKG machines beeped steadily, IV bags containing sedatives hung from poles.

“Welcome back boss,” a young blond haired woman greeted with a bow. On her gray uniform was the embroidered broken fairy wing. In her hand was a brown clipboard.

“Thank you, Mai-san. How many children are we up to now?”

“With the exception of the one Hiruma-san gravely injured the other day, we are now up to forty seven. We have done a thorough examination on thirty two. Of which, three cannot be used due to the illnesses they have picked up on the streets.”

“Kill them. They’re worthless to us.”

“Understood boss. Within a few more days, the remainder children will have detailed medical reports. It looks like we have covered the majority of the blood types.”

“Excellent. Let’s pick up five more to round to a nice even fifty. Then we’ll open up to the market and start rolling in the cash.”

“As you wish, Kinkan-sensei.”

—————————————

**Trigger**

_-Now-_

Tsuna stared at Reborn, weighing his options. Did he trust Reborn with this information? The immediate answer was yes. So perhaps the better question was did he trust Reborn with this information now?

The immediate answer to that was no.

Things were far too sensitive right now. One little misstep and everything could potentially blow up. Tsuna was desperate to find a peaceful situation (and he found one when Ienari was chosen to be Decimo instead of him) and should Reborn and/or Vongola press too hard, Tsuna knew all of his friends and Neesan would react violently. Vongola will slaughter them all if it ever came to that.

It was clear that Reborn was looking for a reason why Ienari shouldn’t be Decimo (the faith Reborn had in Tsuna was awe-inspiring and humbling) but Tsuna did not want to be Decimo, did not want anything to do with the mafia, did not want to inherit the sins and blood of Vongola’s history. No, he would burn Vongola to the ground before that happened.

But Reborn deserved to know at least something.

Perhaps the ultimate question was could Tsuna even talk about it?

Tsuna closed his eyes and suppressed the dark memories and whispering, mocking voice in his head. His ring felt warm against his chest, pulsing with reassurance.

“I don’t know when it started,” Tsuna said quietly. He refused to look at Reborn, staring at the carpet floor of his room. Absentmindedly, he traced small circles with his finger on the ground, trying hard not to think about the words slipping out of his mouth. “I don’t know when playful wrestling became actual fights, when a light bump became a hard shove, when a pat on the arm became a punch, when Ienari stopped being my otouto and became the bully I feared.”

Tsuna shifted his gaze out his window and up at the night sky. The moon hung low, full and bright. Stars twinkled down at him. His throat felt tight, the words choking inside. Tsuna never liked talking about his (nonexistence) relationship with Ienari. He couldn’t for the most part. This was the best Tsuna could do.

“Until, I was about eight, Ienari use to hurt me every way he physically could. Ienari hadn’t learned karate yet, so the damage he could do wasn’t that much. But a punch to the stomach was still a punch to the stomach. Kaasan wasn’t well practiced in keeping us apart, and sometimes it was hard to tell what was just sibling squabbles or Ienari actually hurting me,” Tsuna said. A self-deprecating smile spread across his face. “That soon stopped because Ienari learned words hurt more than anything he could have done physically to me.”

_Worthless. Freak. Useless._

“The thing you have to know about Ienari, Reborn, is that I’m the only one who sets him off like that. There are a couple theories as to why, and that’s something you’ll have to discuss with Ayame-neesan because most of it goes over my head. No one else seems to set him off like I do,” Tsuna said. His smile was frail. There was a sharp pain in his heart at his failure to be a big brother to Ienari. But Ienari was always pushing and pushing. What could Tsuna do? Every attempt to reach out ended up in pain. It was frustrating, it was terrifying.

Tsuna glanced at the door of his bedroom, wary of Ienari breaking in. He knew fundamentally that Ienari was still in the hospital. Tsuna was safe. Ienari, be words or fists, could not touch him here. It didn’t stop the fear from bubbling.

It was exhausting, being scared of his younger brother. It was terrifying knowing flesh and blood wanted him dead and was just across the hall. But Tsuna had never known anything different toward Ienari, hadn’t for years. Fear, pity, a love out of duty was all Tsuna felt toward Ienari these days. Fear, however was all encompassing, crippling, overshadowing the few happy, bright memories Tsuna had of his brother.

“But something extreme must have happened. Your friends wouldn’t react the way they do if that wasn’t the case,” Reborn asked. His black eyes were hard, waiting for the missing piece. “How far did Ienari push?”

Like sand slipping from a broken hourglass, memories burst forward. The pitch black darkness, the falling, the falling, the falling. The white rooms, the crying and sobbing and whining. The pain, the PAIN, THE PAIN! MAKE IT STOP!

_Don’t touch me!_

“-na! Tsuna!”

Reborn’s voice broke through the bundle of emotions that had swallowed Tsuna whole. Tsuna trembled as his world shook, trying to realign itself. He felt horribly off balanced and vulnerable. Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut and took several deep breaths.

“Tsuna?”

Tsuna forced himself to look at Reborn, saw the guilt and worry reflected in the black eyes. The words felt heavy in his mouth. His head spun, dizzy and nauseous.

Reborn laid his small hand on Tsuna’s knee. It was warm to the touch, something Tsuna used to brace himself, to anchor himself in the whirlpool of emotions, of fear and panic that engulfed him. “If you don’t want to or can’t talk about it, Tsuna, that is alright,” Reborn said gently.

“S-sorry,” Tsuna managed to stammer out.

Reborn merely nodded. “It’s okay.”

“S-sorry.”

Reborn didn’t say anything this time, just jumped into Tsuna’s lap. Tsuna immediately wrapped his arms around him. On some level Tsuna recognized that Reborn probably hated being treated like Tsuna’s personal teddy bear, but Reborn was warm, like his mother, like Giotto, like his friends, like Neesan and Tsuna had always found comfort and safety in that warmth. That Reborn let Tsuna do this made his heart sing.

They sat there quietly until Tsuna fell asleep.

—————————————

**Over the Garden Wall**

Reborn woke up to a blue sky and forest of purple trees. He frowned, eyes narrowing, roaming over the scenery.

Tsuna! Where was Tsuna? Reborn looked around, trying to pinpoint the brunet. Tsuna was nowhere to be found. Reborn was alone. All around him was nothing but purple trees.

Reborn reached up to tug his fedora down in frustration before stopping to stare at his hand. These hands… He flexed his fingers, staring at the much larger hand. In fact, he glanced up and down at himself, patting his legs, chest and arms in disbelief. He was in his full adult body again. Impossible. How?

“What the hell is going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -builds up your expectations- -sends it crashing down-
> 
> Bwuhaha. How many of you are just as confused as Reborn?
> 
> I’m not gonna give the reason behind Ienari and Tsuna issues to you guys that easily. Though, depending where you look, Reborn and Tsuna’s conversation was not the most important part of this chapter. But we’ve now covered how Ryohei and Tsuna met, introduced Bianchi to Ienari, introduced Lambo, told you Yousei’s goal, and well lots of other things too.
> 
> On a side note, do you guys know which chapter/episode Yuni says the whole Tsuna is known to be the Vongola Boss who always fights with his brows furrowed and fists swung in the semblance of a prayer, thing? I kinda wanna read/watch that in context. I mean, it’s on the wikia, fanfics keep referencing it and it’s really cool (though I’m honestly not really seeing the fists swung in semblance of a prayer part. But maybe that’s because of my lack of exposure to canon. Is it talking about Tsuna’s X burner stance?)


	6. Yousei Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A
> 
>  **Warnings:** N/A
> 
>  **Important Stuff:** Supernatural Stuff
> 
> I love you guys you know that right? You guys are amazing.
> 
> Also, I'm thinking not many of you are Over the Garden Wall fans (I think only one person panicked xD)
> 
> Cookies for everyone who helped me track down the whole eyebrow furrowed, fists in prayer quote. It was really interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on that. :O It also set off a bunch of headcanons but yeah for another day.
> 
> Anyways, my week looks like it's off to a rough start so as I de-stressed, I pushed to just finish this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.

_-Last Time-_

_**Over the Garden Wall** _

_Reborn woke up to a blue sky and forest of purple trees. He frowned, eyes narrowing, roaming over the scenery._

_Tsuna! Where was Tsuna? Reborn looked around, trying to pinpoint the brunet. Tsuna was nowhere to be found. Reborn was alone. All around him was nothing but purple trees._

_Reborn reached up to tug his fedora down in frustration before stopping to stare at his hand. These hands… He flexed his fingers, staring at the much larger hand. In fact, he glanced up and down at himself, patting his legs, chest and arms in disbelief. He was in his full adult body again. Impossible. How?_

" _What the hell is going on?"_

_\---------------------------------------_

**Into the Unknown**

Thoughts whirled in Reborn's head. This was an impossibility. He had returned to his adult form. Did that mean the curse was broken? No… The yellow pacifier still hung around his neck, the constant weight still crushing down on his soul.

How?

Reborn ground his teeth in frustration. Honestly, ever since he came to Namimori, everything Reborn had ever known was being turned upside down. It was humiliating, infuriating, and getting very, very tiresome. Every time it felt like things were settling down, it was like someone stirred the pot again, jumbling everything. It was fine that Reborn didn't know everything between Ienari and Tsuna, he would find out eventually, but Namimori seemed to like throwing new things at him constantly, changing the rules again.

Reborn suppressed the urge to scream aloud.

Putting aside, the mystery of his adult body, where was Tsuna? What happened? The last thing Reborn remembered was setting up his hammock in Tsuna's room and settling down for the night. Tsuna had fallen into a deep sleep after Reborn had triggered his panic attack and Reborn refused to leave the brunet alone.

So how had he gotten from Tsuna's room to… a forest of purple trees? Reborn ignored the fact that purple trees did not exist, or at least not the exact shade of pastel light purple and were those orange polka dots on some of them? No. He was not thinking about that.

Reborn tugged at his fedora, before a feeling of dread washed over him. He whipped off his fedora, staring at the empty brim. Leon was missing too. "Leon?" Reborn called out, hoping his partner was somewhere nearby and had just wandered off.

There was nothing but the whistle of the wind through the leaves.

Something, not quite fear, but more like vulnerability, inundated Reborn. He may be well on his way to accepting Tsuna as his sky, but Leon was Reborn's partner. Leon had been through everything with Reborn, through the curse and dark aftermath, through Dino's training, through the solemnest of nights when dark dreams kept Reborn awake. Reborn couldn't recall the last time he was unaware of Leon's location. Whether it was on the brim of his hat or curled up in Tsuna's hair, even if they were separated, Reborn always knew where Leon was.

It was unsettling that he didn't.

But Reborn was nothing but a survivor. It was a high possibility that wherever Tsuna was, Leon was. After all, Leon had nestled into Tsuna's soft hair the moment the brunet had fallen asleep.

Further examination proved he was still armed and that he did still have access to his flames. Now all he had to do now was figure out where he was and how he was going to get out of here. With no other leads, Reborn picked a direction and started walking. The sooner he was out of this strange forest, the better.

He ignored the 'Kyaaa' of a crow in the distance.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Fork in the Road**

Eventually, Reborn had found a road through the forest. Walking along it -perhaps he would find someone and could ask for directions- he finally reached a fork in the road.

There were two signs, but both were written in a language Reborn didn't recognize. It looked like someone had thrown all the languages of the world together and mashed it up, leaving behind an unrecognizable group of symbols.

Which direction to go in?

"The one pointing to the right says Area: Sunshine Flower Field. The one pointing to the left says, Area: Thunderous Rocks, Danger."

Reborn instantly pulled out a gun, glancing around the area. "Who's there?" he called out.

Silence.

Swiftly, Reborn made his choice. An unknown threat lurked somewhere. He was not staying around to find out.

Halfway down his choice, the voice rang out again. "So distrustful. Have it your way. Turning right would have taken you somewhere safe, but if you want to do it the hard way, have fun."

As if Reborn would trust a disembodied voice.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Thunderous Rocks**

Okay. Maybe the voice had a slight point. Maybe.

Reborn wasn't willing to admit that aloud, but within his own head, he could concede that the voice was right to turn right.

Thunderous Rocks were literal lightning rocks. They crackled with electricity, flaring at random. Lightning strikes fell from the sky as well, striking the rocks and sending sparks flying. It looked dangerous, extremely dangerous to cross and Reborn's instincts did not need to scream at him to know it was a very bad idea to attempt cross the field without knowing where he was going.

Under normal circumstances, Reborn would have turned back around. His pride was not worth his life and Reborn knew when to admit defeat in the face of the unreasonably impractical. (Normal impossible, Reborn might challenge, but there was crazy and there was death wish and Reborn had no plans on dying.)

The only problem was the path back to the purple tree forest had faded away. The road Reborn had traveled on, disappeared, leaving him in the middle of the area with rocks that discharged electricity. He hopped from rock to rock, hoping his luck would hold. He figured if he aimed for the rocks that just discharged, there would be less of a chance it of it discharging again so soon.

He leapt, aiming for the large rock in front of him when lightning struck, hitting the large rock and sending Reborn skidding back. "Shit!" Reborn cursed, recognizing the tattletale signs of discharge on the rock he had been forced to land on. He called up his Sun Flames, hoping the increased speed would get him away, injured but alive.

Before the rock discharged though, Reborn was blown into the sky by a miniature tornado.

Shit. Reborn cursed in even language he knew in his head. Where the hell had he ended up? Nothing made any sense. Purple trees, rocks that discharged lightning, and disembodied voices. This was insane. Not the good kind insane either. But the mind fucking, reality warping kind. And this was coming from Reborn, who was the world's greatest hitman, who got turned into a baby, who dealt with the insanity that is the mafia and dying will flames, who knew Viper and just about any Mist Flame user worth knowing. Reborn didn't think life couldn't throw any more curves balls that would really surprise him.

He was so wrong.

Finding Tsuna aside, why, why had he ever accepted this job to come to Namimori of all places?

The stress was not worth it.

Nor was the sudden inverse of gravity!

The tornado had blown Reborn into the sky, pass the gray thunder clouds. The sky shifted into a soft orange color, the same color as pure sky flames. And even though Reborn should be still traveling at upward trajectory, when he looked up, he was approaching what looked to be a river.

He hit the water and resurfaced out of an ocean.

What. The. Hell?!

Dizzy, Reborn looked around. An ocean. He had been blown past thunderclouds, fell into _a river above the thunderclouds_ and came out of an ocean?! His head throbbed from the headache, trying desperately to understand.

He struggled out of the cold water, stepping onto the soft white sand. The sky above him was now a pale pink and the ocean had a greenish tint. It was a pretty safe bet that he was not in Namimori anymore. In fact Reborn couldn't even begin to place where he could possibly be. After all, the colors were all wrong, physics appeared to be broken and things that shouldn't logically exist obviously did.

"You're not very smart are you?"

**\---------------------------------------**

**Zephyr**

Reborn's eyes snapped toward the source of the same disembodied voice from the forest. There, sitting on a piece of driftwood was a young teenage boy. With black hair and ice blue eyes, he couldn't have been more than a year or two older then Tsuna. A black low V neck top revealed a blue dragon tattoo curling around his neck. A white leather jacket, various rings and chains and green slacks with black boots finished the outfit.

"Who are you?" Reborn snapped.

The ice blue eyes crinkled in amusement. "You may call me Zephyr. You are?"

"Reborn."

Zephyr gave him a lazy grin. "You know, the first rule here is not to give out your name. Words have power, especially names. You're lucky I don't want to enslave you."

Reborn leveled his gun at Zephyr. He was not in the mood to play games.

"No need to shoot," Zephyr said with an easy grin. He wasn't threatened even the slightest. "I promise I'm here to help." Then his grin turned sharp. "But the second rule of this place is not to accept anything from a stranger, so I'll let you decide whether you want my help or not."

Reborn lowered his gun. He did not want to ask for help. Especially not after that bit of advice. But he didn't know where he was, where he was going or where he could find Tsuna. If he had taken the original advice given to him, well it was entirely possible that Sunshine Flowers Field could have been deadly too, but probably not as bad Thunderous Rocks. Information was valuable.

"Where am I?" Reborn asked.

"This place is called many things, but the most common I suppose would be the Spirit World," Zephyr replied in a lazy drawl.

"Spirit World," Reborn repeated in a flat tone. Sure, why not? Primo was a ghost that could materialize in Namimori and Tsuna and Hibari could see him without Primo having to exert more energy to reveal himself. If Primo's ghost was still around, a spirit world wasn't that farfetched. It did not, however, explain what Reborn was doing in the Spirit World in the first place!

"How do I get back to Japan?" Reborn asked.

"Well~," Zephyr said, amused. "If you had gone to Sunshine Flower Field, there would have been a portal that would have taken you back."

What. If Reborn had taken the stupid advice in the first place, he wouldn't be in this mess? Reborn snarled. The air grew frigid as his anger and bloodlust tempered the air.

"But," Zephyr continued, ignoring Reborn's flaring bloodlust. "It wouldn't have mattered because you can't go back."

Reborn didn't hesitate, firing off a bullet through Zephyr's black hair as a warning shot. "Explain," he said darkly.

Zephyr stared him, bored. Rolling his eyes, Zephyr said, "The reason why you're here is because somewhere along the way you pissed off a god or spirit or two. You're being tested, idiot. Judged really. Until you pass the test, all portals will lock you here in the Spirit World."

"And if I don't pass this test?" Reborn asked, growing more and more vexed.

"You die," Zephyr said, plainly. "Humans, normal humans, like you aren't meant to stay that long in the Spirit World. If you had some spiritual power in you, you probably would have been okay if you got stuck here. But you don't. So you'll either die in the judgement or get enslaved by a spirit or eaten by a god or any of the other horrible deaths that happened when a normal human stumbles into this place."

This was stupid. So very stupid.

"Where do I go for this test?" Reborn asked, jaw clenched tightly. If he wasn't careful, he would be grinding his teeth soon in frustration.

"Don't know. The spirit you pissed off chooses the location and the test. You have to find them. Trust me, you'll know when you find them," Zephyr said.

Reborn grated his teeth. "So I just wander around until I find them? How big is this spirit world?"

"Yup. And about oh three to four times as the Real World."

Reborn stomped down on the urge to kill the brat in front of him. Zephyr was the only source of information Reborn had. Reborn took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Alright, what else do I need to know? You mentioned something about rules?" Reborn demanded.

Zephyr let out a laugh. "Sure, sure. There are some basic rules you should know about. The first, don't give out your name. Words have power, especially names. There are spirits who will make you their slave if you give them your name."

"Why did you tell me yours then?"

"Who said Zephyr is my real name? Besides, you're a human. You can't do anything with my name."

So aliases were fine. That was easy enough for Reborn.

"Second, don't accept anything from anyone. Especially food. Everything comes with a price and in exchange for anything, something must be given in return. Nice spirits will tell you in advance what the price is, mean ones won't," Zephyr said.

So did that mean Zephyr was a "mean" spirit who was going to take something from Reborn for freely giving away this information? Reborn felt his temper flare again.

As if reading his mind, Zephyr added. "I owe someone a favor, so my helping you out isn't part a trick on my part. Someone else is paying for the information I am freely giving you. Be grateful. Most humans who wander into this world don't get a rule book. Now continuing on, rule three goes with rule two, if you can avoid it don't eat anything here. Are you familiar with the legend of Persephone and Hades?"

Reborn nodded. Hades, Greek God of the Underworld, kidnapped Persephone the daughter of Demeter, Greek Goddess of Harvest. Demeter demanded Hades to return her daughter, plunging the world into a barren wasteland while she mourned. But before he did so, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, the food of the Underworld. For that she had to spend six months in the Underworld, six months above with her mother.

"While not completely the same, something similar could be said about the food here. You could eat it, but since you lack Spiritual Energy, it's not really good for you and you can end up like Persephone and unable to leave. Food is also the easiest way to incur a debt. Now, unless you are unlucky and can't find the spirit you pissed off, you shouldn't be here long enough to get hungry. But if you do and you must eat, find it in the wild, not from someone or a store. Apologize for harvesting the food early, give thanks before and after eating."

"Give thanks?" Reborn questioned. He was not a religious person, not even close. Did that mean a prayer?

Zephyr snorted. "You were in Japan before this no? Itadakimasu, for example, is good enough. It doesn't have to be directed at a specific spirit. What matters is the intent. It pisses off a lot of spirits when people don't show basic gratitude. That brings me to the last rule you should know, be polite, mind your manners. You won't offend any spirits if you are extra polite."

"I don't even know how I offended this first one," Reborn said bitterly.

"Did you shoot any birds?" Zephyr asked. His tone was amused and sarcastic.

Reborn paused. Well, there was that crow that was clearly stalking Tsuna, but Reborn hadn't killed it! It had been one bullet and just enough to scare it away!

"You did!" Zephyr looked far too amused for Reborn's liking. "Birds are the most common messengers for most spirits. Not that you can tell a normal bird from a spiritual one. Of course, birds aren't the only ones, could have been a mouse too."

Did that mean Reborn wasn't allowed to kill anything in Japan? What the fuck?

"Though most spirits don't particularly care if someone takes a swing at their messengers. Depends on the spirit. But more likely you hurt a favorite human of a spirit," Zephyr said.

Instantly Tsuna and the Dying Will Bullet accident popped into Reborn's head. He shivered slightly from his wet clothes and guilt.

Zephyr flicked his wrist and a burst of warm air hit Reborn.

"All dry?" Zephyr asked.

Reborn was. That would make sense. A gust of wind had blown him into the sky and a zephyr was a soft gentle breeze. So Zephyr here was a wind spirit. "Thanks," Reborn said, grudgingly.

Zephyr laughed, throwing his arms behind his head. "Cute. I'm starting to see why I got sent to look after you. There are going to be spirits coming after you from everywhere."

That was not comforting at all.

"Regardless of whether you did hurt a spirit's favorite human though, unless the spirit tells you about it directly, there's no real way of knowing why you're really here. Maybe you got dragged into the Spirit World just because you impressed a god. Anyways, I got things to do," Zephyr said. He stood, before losing his balance and falling to the soft sand.

Reborn smirked, inwardly laughing. That was exactly like how Dino and Tsuna were always tripping over thin air. "Clumsy aren't you?"

Zephyr scowled, floating himself into the air. "Oh, hush. I don't know how you humans walk on two legs. How do you even balance?"

"You don't normally look like this?" Reborn asked, curious.

"No way. I just borrowed this form from a friend," Zephyr said, giving a twirl in the air to shake off the sand. "You're more comfortable with a human form after all. Or so I was told."

"Is that friend the one who sent you?" Reborn questioned. Why was someone helping him out? Who was helping him out? What did Zephyr normally look like then? Or other spirits? Animals? Or closer to the legends and myths like Tengu and Kitsune?

Zephyr shook his head. "Nah. And no, I'm not obligated to tell you that. You better get going. I told you, it's not good for normal humans to stay too long here."

He flew up into the pink sky, stopping a few feet off the ground. Turning back toward Reborn, Zephyr drew a symbol in the air. "Oh, by the way, if you come across any more signs like the one on the fork in the road, this is the symbol for danger. Try to avoid areas with that symbol. No guarantee I'll be in the area to save you again."

Cheeky spirit!

"And some spirits can read minds!"

Reborn growled and pulled his fedora down. The Spirit World. A test from a god. Sheer madness.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Kodama**

Soon, the pink sky and green ocean faded away and a tall lush green forest took its place. The trees were grand and large, towering so high that Reborn could barely catch a glimpse of the blue sky.

The sound of rattling filled the air. Reborn took a cautious glance around as white spirits started to appear. Upon the tree branches and moss covered rocks, they gathered around Reborn. They were tiny things, not even foot big. Hollowed black eyes and mouth, it stared at Reborn, its head twisting like a wind up key before letting loose, rattling.

Suppressing the urge to fire off a bullet, Reborn took a deep breath and remembered the rules Zephyr had told him. Be polite. Reborn swept off his fedora and bowed. "Please grant me passage through your forest."

The spirits started to swarm, moving in a single direction. A few stopped to tug at Reborn's pants.

"That direction, huh?" Reborn's instincts told him nothing dangerous laid ahead. Though how much his instincts could be trusted in this Spirit World remained to be seen. Still with no other way to go, all Reborn could do was follow.

**\---------------------------------------**

**A Moving Castle**

The white forest spirits lead Reborn to an open field and a large lake. Wind blew, swaying the tall grass. The sky was a clear blue and the bright sun hung low, just over the mountain range in the distance. Reborn wasn't fooled for one second.

With a bow, Reborn thanked the spirits for guiding him to this spot. The small white creatures gather another rattle before fading away.

At the edge of the lake a large… machine appeared to be sitting. Reddish in color, it was a strange, house Reborn supposed, or perhaps a castle would be a better word? It was clearly a home of some sort though.

As he approached the edge of the lake, an old woman in a blue dress came storming out of the building carrying a large load of laundry. "Ah," the woman said, noticing Reborn. "Young man, come help me with this laundry please!"

Reborn wavered, not sure if this was a trick he should be wary of. But the rule of politeness won out. So he softly sighed and walked over to the elderly old lady and helped her hang the laundry. A hopping scarecrow took the clothes line and jumped up onto the castle building, allowing the clothes to flap in the breeze.

The old woman wiped her brow at the job well done before turning to Reborn. With a smile, she asked, "Thank you for the help, young man. What can I give you as repayment?"

Everything was a give and take in the Spirit World. Reborn hesitated. Information. He needed more information. What could he expect from the test? Or, more importantly, was Tsuna in the Spirit World as well? Words have power here, he needed to ask carefully.

"I'm seeking someone. I don't know how I came to this world, but I need to make sure that only I came and not my companions," Reborn asked. Zephyr made it sound like that Reborn would stumble across the test and the god judging him eventually. So the more important thing was to make sure Tsuna and Leon were not trapped in this world.

The old woman hummed. "Information you seek then. I would visit Kamikawa then. Kamikawa is an origami phoenix, born to life by a master craftsman. Any information written on paper Kamikawa can obtain. These past several years she prefers Real World, apparently having found a human she is fond of. But she appears to have made a trip back to the Spirit World today, so you are in luck. While her information is limited to what is written on paper, she is one of the few information spirits you can ask for help for without it costing you an arm and a leg. Information is valuable after all. All Kamikawa wants in return is more information, a story that no one else knows but you. You can find her in the Area: Grand Central Library. I will write you the instructions."

Reborn nodded. "Thank you. If it isn't too much to ask, do you know a language from the Real World?"

The old woman grinned. She ushered him closer to the door of the house, but did not invite Reborn in. Instead, she fetched a pen and paper from inside. "Cannot read the Spirit World Language, can you?" she lightly teased. "Is Japanese okay?"

Reborn nodded. Then he noticed they had been speaking Japanese to each other. Now that he thought about it, he had spoken Japanese to Zephyr too didn't he?

Laughing, the old woman said, "Finally noticed? You'll find most spirits that look human were human at one point or spent so much time in the Real World, they were able to learn to mimic human forms and speak Real World tongue. Most spirits don't bother to learn, but that also makes the human looking one more dangerous."

The old woman handed Reborn the paper and a small purple bag. "The bag contains inarizushi," she said. "I'm sure someone explained why you shouldn't eat it, but inarizushi is a good offering, especially to a kitsune. I got a feeling that you will be needing it."

Reborn bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your help."

The laugh of a young girl instead of an old woman, caused Reborn to look up. Gone was the elderly woman and a young woman with the same silver hair and blue dress stood in her place. "You're such a gentlemen. You better get going. It will be getting dark soon."

Reborn nodded, tipping his fedora and left.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Kamikawa (The Grand Central Library)**

Reborn looked up at the impossibly tall bookshelves. They stretched all the way to the high vaulted ceilings. Rows and rows of wooden bookshelves, the dusty smell of books and absolute silence. The lights were dimmed low, bright enough to see and read without straining one's eyes, but dim enough to cast long shadows in the corners of the library.

He placed a hand on the black metal handrail, stepping down the spiral staircase that led to the heart of the library. At the bottom of the stairs, sitting on a large wooden branch perch was a paper phoenix Ivory white and textured like actual paper, had it not been for the too lifelike black eyes, Reborn would have thought it was an art statue.

"Kamikawa?" Reborn asked carefully. He did not approach, far too wary to let something so unknown get too close.

Kamikawa stretched her wings, revealing rainbow colored under feathers. A yellow feather dislodged, and floated into the air. Then in elegant script, it wrote in perfect Japanese, _'I am Kamikawa.'_

Reborn gave a polite bow. "I am seeking information. I was told in exchange for a story that only I know, you can tell me the information I seek."

Kamikawa let out a soft coo and a golden scale floated to the ground. _'Tell your story and the scale will weigh its worth. Then ask your question and the scale will determine the weight of the question. If your story is still worth more, you may ask another question.'_

Reborn took a deep breath. A story only he knew. The only ones he had to offer were his own memories from childhood. He offered up the most harmless one he could think of.

The scale tipped to one side.

' _Ask your question.'_

Reborn hesitated. How did he word it without giving away Tsuna's name? "I do not know how I came to the Spirit World, but the last thing I remember is falling asleep in a room with two of my companions. Is there any way to confirm that only I arrive in the Spirit World?"

' _You speak of your animal companion and the boy named Tsu-kun.'_

Black eyes widened slightly in surprise. If Kamikawa only dealt with information on paper, how did she know about Tsuna and Leon?

Kamikawa tilted her head. Reborn got the distinct impression that she was amused. The single yellow feather floated into the air once more. _'Your arrival to the Spirit World was highly anticipated by those I know. None who are a harm to you. The boy, Tsu-kun, is infamous if you merely listen to Sky and his guardians.'_

Sky and his guardians. The first generation. Primo and his guardians. Reborn really shouldn't be surprised by that.

' _I can confirm that both your animal companion and Tsu-kun are still safe within the realms of the Real World.'_

That was a relief. At least they were both safe. Reborn felt the tension he was unaware he was under fade away. Information was precious, false information was rarely (if ever) given from those who seek knowledge and wisdom.

The scale tipped slightly, but otherwise remained heavy on the side where Reborn's story had been placed. Kamikawa looked at it. _'You may ask another question.'_

Reborn thought very carefully about his question. "Do you know why I was brought to the Spirit World?"

' _There are many reasons. Curiosity, judgement, anger. You are an odd one, Sun Arcobaleno. You bare the weight of the Tri-Ni-Set, you have indirectly caused harm to the boy Tsu-kun who has unknowing the favor of many spirits, you have taken a shot against a messenger.'_

Reborn felt his stomach flip. The remainder of Kamikawa's words did not register; his brain sputtering to the stop at her reference to the Tri-Ni-Set. Without meaning to, his next question fell from his lips. "Do you know how to reverse the Acrobaleno Curse?"

Could Reborn leave the Spirit World with his adult body intact?

' _There is no written cure for the Acrobaleno Curse.'_ The yellow feather wavered. _'If you wish for more information, you must offer another story.'_

Reborn cursed lightly, offering up another story. He offered two in fact, knowing the weight of questions he was about to ask would be heavy and that he had many. The scales tipped again.

Kamikawa chirped her approval and the yellow feather continue to write. _'You are in your uncursed form for that is how you imagine yourself to be. The Spirit World does not tie to your physical appearance, but how you perceived your soul. But this is largely due to the method in which you have traveled to the Spirit World. Under normal circumstances, you would have arrived in your cursed form.'_

Reborn nearly asked how he had arrived before stopping himself. No, there were more important questions to ask. "Is there a god that can remove my curse?" he asked. A cure was something all the Acrobaleno searched for. Verde, the smartest of them all, yielded no results.

' _There are many, but the price is so steep, I do not recommend it. After all, will you trade one curse for another?'_

No. Reborn wouldn't it. He let out a frustrated groan. So close and yet so far. "So a cure is impossible?" he asked.

Kamikawa rustled her feathers in indignation. _'Very few things are absolute in this world. The limitation of knowledge is not one of them. One will never stop learning, never stop discovering new things. An endless realm of possibilities. The heavy weight of the Tri-Ni-Set is due to the imbalance, thus the Acrobaleno feel the most backlash. For the Vongola Rings remain sealed until a true successor comes along, and the Mare Rings remain in slumber. Balance the Tri-Ni-Set must come first.'_

Reborn blinked bemused by Kamikawa's words. How did one go about balancing the Tri-Ni-Set? The Man in the Iron Hat? What did the phoenix mean that the Vongola Rings were sealed?

' _Even if balance is obtained, there is no answer you will find in the Spirit World. Humans are the ones who innovate. They will be the one to discover.'_

Translation, either Verde would discover it or Verde wouldn't. And even if Verde failed, another future Acrobaleno will probably discover it, but by then it would be too late for Reborn and his companions.

' _You think too small.'_

Reborn snapped a glare those words; his raven black eyes narrowing.

Kamikawa's feathers ruffled, this time in amusement. _'You think too small.'_ The words were repeated in the air. _'Ask your last question. Then, no more.'_

Reborn frowned. One last question. What could he ask? Only one popped into his mind. He doubted Kamikawa would know it, since it was not information that would be recorded in a book. But it never hurt to ask. "I want to leave the Spirit World as soon as possible. Where is the god I have to face?"

' _Area: Lonely Mountain.'_

**\---------------------------------------**

**Warehouse**

"This makes 50, Kinkan-sensei. We are still waiting on results for another seven."

"Excellent. Have all the teams reported in?"

"Not yet, sir. Team D and E who are stationed in Namimori are scouting out one last target."

"It never hurts to have extras. Prep the operation room. I have received an offer if a kidney can be delivered tonight. We'll begin in the meantime."

**\---------------------------------------**

**Engetsu**

Reborn froze. He was pinned to the ground by a seven tail silver kitsune. Said kitsune was sniffing and pawing at Reborn's black jacket, in search for something.

Ah. The inarizushi. If Reborn remembered correctly inarizushi was a kitsune's favorite type of food. Perhaps he could bargain with the kitsune for directions to the Lonely Mountain? Wait kitsunes were trickster types though. Should Reborn chance it?

Anything worth doing had risks.

"If you lead me to the Area: Lonely Mountain, I'll give you the inarizushi I have on me," Reborn said.

The kitsune stepped off of Reborn. Its head tilted to the side, evaluating Reborn's words. The seven tails swung in time with the wind that whistled through the dark woods that Reborn had found himself in.

Suddenly, the kitsune swung its head to the right; its large silver ears twitched. Its hackles raised and a low growl was let loose.

Reborn looked in the direction the kitsune was looking at. A chill ran down his spine as his ears strained to pick up a song being sung in the distance. A deep baritone voice; dark and ominous twisting words.

_Come wayward souls,_

_Who wander through the darkness,_

_There is a light for the lost and the meek._

_Sorrow and fear,_

The kitsune nudged Reborn, ushering the hitman to stand. It tugged at Reborn's pants; its tails twitching in nervous energy.

Sweat rolled down Reborn's face. "Something dangerous is down there, isn't there?" he asked the kitsune, climbing to his feet. His own instincts told him to run away. Never had Reborn's own instincts rang so loudly like that.

The kitsune nodded.

_Are easily forgotten,_

_When you submit to the soil of the earth._

The song was getting closer. Shit. Okay, he needed to get out of here now. "Which way?" Reborn asked.

The kitsune took off. The soft moonlight glow that surrounded its body, dulled and muted, barely lighting the pathway. Reborn followed after it, weaving through the shadows and towering trees. The song faded away and the chills dwindled away.

They burst into a clearing. At the center was a moonbeam illuminated a rabbit hole. The kitsune circled the rabbit hole, looking at Reborn with an expected look. Reborn tugged at his fedora in indignation. "Down the rabbit hole huh?"

The kitsune gave a small huff of exasperation and dove down the hole.

"Might as well play Alice in this Wonderland," Reborn remarked, jumping in.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Breathe**

Tsuna sat up, the blanket falling off of him as he rubbed his eyes. The red light of his alarm clock alerted him that it was just after one in the morning. There was a heavy weight pressing down on his head, most likely Leon had crawled into his hair again and was sleeping. When had he fallen asleep?

Tsuna winced at the memory of the conversation he had with Reborn before he passed out. Right. That conversation. He bit his lip, worried. As he expected, facing the memories of those times was something Tsuna was not ready to do. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the depressing thoughts.

Blearily, Tsuna glanced at the corner that Reborn had most likely set up his hammock in. Ever since Ienari had gone into the hospital, Reborn had taken to sleeping in Tsuna's room.

Rocking gently, Reborn slept soundly. To Tsuna's surprise the ever present sleep bubble was missing. That probably meant that Reborn was actually awake. "Reborn?" Tsuna called out softly.

No answer.

The dark clouds in the sky rolled away, allowing the moonlight to pierce Tsuna's room. Brown eyes widened at the lack of the rise and fall of the chest. Tsuna scrambled out of his bed.

"Reborn!"

**\---------------------------------------**

**The Lonely Mountain**

A bright yellow sun hung in the sky. Reborn looked up at the grand, majestic mountain that pierced the sky; its peak obscured by the white clouds. The sky was a pure, clean, vibrant blue color and a fierce gale blew.

Hand gripping tight to his fedora, Reborn looked down at the kitsune. Its tails waved as it pawed at Reborn's shoes. The soft glow around the kitsune practically vibrated with energy. "Is this the Lonely Mountain?" Reborn asked.

The kitsune nodded its head before standing on its hind legs, leaning its front legs against Reborn's chest.

With a chuckle, Reborn pulled out the purple bag of inarizushi from the pocket inside his jacket. "Thank you," he said. Despite Zephyr had told him originally, it seemed Reborn had a string of good luck when it came to the Spirit World. (Mostly) Every spirit he had encountered had been friendly and helpful.

The kitsune peered at the package before lighting four silver fox flames. The flames swirled before condensing into four silver orbs. Three floated over to Reborn's open hand.

"Why are you giving me these?" Reborn asked, grasping the three orbs.

The kitsune pointed its snout to the inarizushi.

"Payment for the rest of the inarizushi," Reborn said in understanding. Equivalent exchange. The amount of inarizushi was apparently more than showing Reborn the way to the Lonely Mountain. So the silver kitsune was making up the difference. He examined the three orbs. About half the size of a tennis ball, the surface of the orbs was smooth and cool to the touch as if they were made of real silver. "What do they do?"

The last orb floated over to a pile of rocks. The orb was crushed and instantly the rocks hovered off the ground, weightless.

"Gravity manipulation," Reborn said, impressed. He didn't know kitsunes could have such an ability. The legends spoke of illusions and shapeshifters, but this was something else. Or perhaps this was something all kitsunes gained as they got older? Seven tails implied that kitsune next to him was fairly powerful. The more tails the stronger the kitsune.

The silver kitsune preened at the compliment. Then it spread its seven tails, fox flames lighting up at the tip of each tail. The flames flew, surrounding Reborn, spinning faster and faster until they were a single ring around. Before Reborn could ask what was happening, he was launched into the air.

**\---------------------------------------**

**Yatagarasu (Defeat Me!)**

Reborn cursed as he flew past the clouds and upwards the peak of the Lonely Mountain. He showed no sign of stopping at the peak drew closer and closer. How was he supposed to stop?

Then suddenly he came to a complete halt.

"Engetsu launched you all the way up here, huh?"

Reborn twisted around to find Zephyr hovering next to him. Wind gyrated around them, keeping them both afloat.

Irritation bubbled in Reborn. "If you knew where I had to go, why didn't you say so in the first place!" he snarled.

"Is that any way to be talking to someone who caught you?" Zephyr asked.

Before Reborn could retort back, a loud 'Kyaaa' was heard. Bursting forth from the white clouds, flew a large black crow with three legs. Its wingspan was easily larger than an eight story building. A sun crest rested on its chest, tied with a white ribbon that fluttered behind in the wind.

Zephyr quickly held his hands up in surrender, dropping Reborn onto the unstable slope of the Lonely Mountain. "You pissed off a Yatagarasu?" Zephyr asked in despair. "You might have spat at Amaterasu-sama. It was nice knowing you, Reborn."

Reborn merely scowled. A sharp wind blew "What's the price if I want you to help me?"

"Can't. It won't matter," Zephyr said. Another loud kyaa filled the air. "He said this will be a one on one fight. You will be returned to the Real World if you manage to land a hit on him." Zephyr gave Reborn a sympathetic look. "Sorry, but you're on your own," he said, vanishing in a gust of wind.

Reborn grimaced and before dropping his fedora down to the ground, held in place by a rock. With the wind speeds blowing up here, it wouldn't stay very long on his head. He pulled out a gun, checking to see that he had a full clip of bullets loaded. With a light pat, he felt the three silver orbs the kitsune had given him in his pants pocket.

Reborn took aim, firing off his first bullet. As expected the Yatagarasu dodged it, spinning into a barrel roll. Bright dots began to gather around the Yatagarasu before a rain of light beams showered down at Reborn. Reborn threw up his arms to shield his eyes, weaving in between the light beams. With a powerful flap of his wings, the Yatagarasu sent Reborn flying off the slope of the mountain.

Reborn clicked his tongue in frustration. Why did everyone in this Spirit World insist on launching him into the air? He pulled out one of the silver orbs, crushing it as he slowed to a suspended stop. Reborn swallowed, looking down to see the ground miles and miles below him. He only had two more orbs, if he failed to land a hit on the Yatagarasu before he ran out of orbs, there was no doubt the three legged crow would launch him into the air again and Reborn would plummet to his death.

Before he could do anything, the Yatagarasu tackled him in the air, slamming him into the rocky side. He grit his teeth in pain as sharp rocks embedded itself into his backside, leaving a deep trench into the dirt. Reborn spat some blood to the side; his lip had been cut. The Yatagarasu flew high in the sky, circling the mountain.

How did one fight a god?

Reborn struggled to stand, feeling wobbly. He hissed as a sharp pain ran rampant through his body. Being slammed into the ground by the Yatagarasu was like being hit by a train traveling over 150 miles per hour. His Sun Flames flared to life, healing his wounds.

Just as they were healed, the Yatagarasu began his next attack. This time, the shadows of the trench Reborn's landing had created surged up like a tidal wave. Reborn turned, Sun Flames gathering at the tip of his gun as he fired. "Chaos Shot."

The yellow arrows split off, piercing the shadows and creating a gap large enough for Reborn to slip through. Twisting his body in the air as he passed through the wave of shadows, Reborn turned to fire another bullet into the ground, and one more at the Yatagarasu. A light barrier flickered to life around the Yatagarasu, deflecting the bullet.

The Yatagarasu flapped its wings, creating another powerful gust of wind that knocked Reborn off the slope once more. Reborn looked around, calculations whirling in his head as the last gust of wind had dislodged several large chunks of rocks into the air as well. The trajectories coincided, and Reborn knew he had a small window.

"Chaos Shot," Reborn called once more as the bullet he had previously fired into the ground launched itself up at Yatagarasu. The three legged crow moved to dodge the bullet as Reborn crushed another silver orb, slowing his momentum and the boulders around him. Reborn pushed off one of the boulders, launching him back the Yatagarasu.

The Yatagarasu gave another cry to the sky. Bright dots flickered around him, gathering energy for another light beam attack. Before they could launch, Reborn crushed the last silver orb. The Yatagarasu gave a confused coo as gravity reversed around them. Reborn used that small window of confusion to fire off another Sun Flame charged Chaos Shot.

Yellow arrows of light flew at the Yatagarasu. A ringing Kyaaa shattered through the air as the rain of light beams fired and the sky was filled with a blinding light.

All was quiet.

Aware that he was now on the rocky slope of the mountain once more, Reborn blinked rapidly, trying to see. His gun was still held loosely in his hands, ears keened to any sound.

Eventually the dark spots in his eyes faded away and the dust settled. A dark shadow loomed over Reborn. "Shit," the hitman cursed. Standing above him was the Yatagarasu. The sun crest was dropped into Reborn's lap.

"Congratulations. It seems you survived."

Reborn turned to see Zephyr sitting on the slope above him. The black haired spirit grinned. "He acknowledges your strength. He's presenting you the Sun Crest as proof that you've won. The portals will now allow you back into the Real World."

The Yatagarasu stretched its wings and took to the sky with several powerful flaps. It vanished into the sea of clouds, the Kyaaa fading away in the distance.

Reborn groaned, letting his body relax. Everything ached, even with his Sun Flames healing his wounds in overtime. A small bubble of hysteria formed deep within him at the thought that he had just faced a god and lived to tell the tale. How was this his life? Even with the mafia, Dying Will Flames and magical bullets made this seem like a fanatical tale. At least Dying Will Flames made some logical sense and none of this Spirit World, Gods and teleporting areas.

"How do I get out of here?" Reborn asked, tiredly. He just wanted to go back home and sleep for days.

Zephyr stared down at him, his head tilted with curiosity. "I wonder if they'll catch you."

Reborn barely had any time to react before a tornado swept him off his feet and launched him into the air. He plunged pass the sea of white clouds, falling and falling and falling.

'Shit,' Reborn thought. 'So this is how I die.'

His vision blurred as his consciousness teetered on the brink of wakefulness. The last thing he heard was the fluttering of wings and something shiny out of the corner of his eye.

Then darkness.

**\---------------------------------------**

**When Lightning Strikes**

Hayato stumbled out of his apartment just as the sun rose over the horizon. He needed to pick up some things from the store, restock on some dynamite and look for a more stable job than the crap one he had currently. All before school started.

He walked down the empty street when the clattering of trashcans and shouts caught his attention. Hayato looked down alleyway to see a group of five men with the broken fairy wing emblem on their shirts attacking a small boy in cow print.

"Let me go!" The child cried out. "Let me go!"

"Be careful! This kid is carrying some weird stuff, bombs!" shouted one of the men.

"Stop squirming you brat!" another man cried out, punching the kid in the stomach. "Quick get the chloroform!"

"HEY!" Hayato said, storming into the alleyway. "Leave him alone!"

Before he could pull out his dynamite, something heavy crashed into the back of his head. Hayato stumbled, falling to the ground. 'There was one more,' he realized too late.

The world turned to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -stuffs as many references as I possibly could into this chapter- -did you catch them all?-
> 
> \o/ I wrote a chapter without Ienari or Ayame. But yes, you guys were right, the crow was important (but it was still innocent!) and Reborn has taken a trip into the Spirit World. And uh oh, Gokudera and Lambo are in big trouble. The Yousei Arc will come to end next chapter (hopefully).
> 
> Yatagarasu – three legged crow. Symbolic of guidance or divine intervention in human affairs. Often associated with Sun. [x]  [x]


	7. Yousei Arc: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** See Warning  
>  **Warnings:** Yousei is organ harvest group. While there are no graphic scenes, the implications are there.  
>  **Important Stuff:** N/A

**The Eye of the Storm (Fon, the Storm Arcobaleno)**

Fon had arrived in Namimori just an hour ago. I-pin came here on a mission here a few days ago and he had gotten concerned when she failed to check in. He boarded the next flight to Japan and came in search for her. Upon his arrival in Namimori, Fon knew exactly who he needed to check in, both as a courtesy and because if someone had seen I-pin, it was more likely his nephew.

Said nephew was sitting across from his, scowling at him; no doubt upset that his peaceful morning had been shattered by Fon's arrival.

"Why are you here, carnivore?" Kyoya demanded.

"Hello Kyoya," Fon said, calmly. "I'm just passing through. My apprentice went missing a few days ago. She was traveling to Namimori for an assignment, but failed to check in. I was wondering if you had seen her?"

Kyoya scowled even harder. Fon wisely didn't say anything, knowing not to push. Kyoya disapproved of Fon's connections to the Chinese Triads (and on bad days, Fon agreed with him, but for Kyoya's protection, for his sister's family Fon considered himself to be an acceptable sacrifice; something Kyoya was to never know).

Fon quietly watched the flicker of emotions that passed in Kyoya's gray eyes. Then, almost slight widening of gray eyes as if Kyoya just realized something, something he didn't like.

"I-pin?" Kyoya questioned.

Fon looked up at him, startled. "Yes. I'm surprised you remember her. You only met her once." Fon had brought her to meet Kyoya over a year ago, to give I-pin a name and face of someone she could trust and turn to should anything happen to Fon. He was surprised Kyoya had bothered to remember her; he had expected to have to explain her to Kyoya.

Kyoya closed his eyes, pinching them tight. Then he let out a growl and stood. He held a hand out for his uncle to climb up on. "Come," Kyoya instructed. "You need to meet the baby omnivore."

Fon stared at Kyoya, astonished by his offer. Kyoya never willing offered a ride and who was the baby omnivore? Nevertheless Fon complied, curious whom his nephew was speaking of.

\---------------------------------------

**Just a Dream**

Reborn woke up in Tsuna's bed. Tsuna was curled around him, as if sheltering him from the outside, still asleep. The hitman blinked, once, twice and let the thoughts just swim in his head like a frenzied school of fish.

What had happened?

The Spirit World. Fighting against the Yatagarasu. Being thrown off the Lonely Mountain by Zephyr. Fluttering wings and something shiny.

Was it all a dream?

He looked at the child sized hands and felt a wave of bitterness swallow him. It was a rather cruel dream, giving back his true form.

' _You think too small.'_

Kamikawa's words echoed lightly in Reborn's head.

Before he could dwell on it longer, Tsuna began to stir. Brown eyes flew open, searching for Reborn.

"Tsuna," Reborn greeted.

"Reborn!" Tsuna reached out. "Are you alright? Last night you weren't..." He trailed off, looking utterly despondent.

Reborn hated that look. Just as Reborn was about to ask Tsuna what had happened last night, there came a tap at his window.

Tsuna looked up, surprised. "Kyoya-sempai!" He slid the window open, allowing the Skylark and his passenger to enter Tsuna room.

His pacifier lighting up, Reborn was surprised to see Fon sitting on Hibari's shoulder. Didn't Fon say he had a bad relationship with his nephew? Then again, the reasons driving Hibari's actions were much different than expected. Hibari was as bloodthirsty and dangerous as reported, but not as aloof as expected. If his attachment to Tsuna was any indication.

"Reborn," Fon said, surprised. His own red pacifier was also lit.

"Baby omnivore, this is Fon, my uncle or more commonly known the Storm Acrobaleno," Kyoya said.

Both Reborn and Fon whipped their head in shock at Hibari. Hibari willingly mentioning that Fon was his uncle? (Reborn also noted that Tsuna was not surprised by the word Acrobaleno and that reminded him, where was Ayame getting her information?)

"Hello Fon-san," Tsuna greeted with a polite bow of his head. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but please call me Tsuna."

"His apprentice, I-pin a five year old girl, is missing," Kyoya continued.

Tsuna's brown eyes narrowed. "Yousei?"

"It fits the pattern."

"Who is Yousei?" Fon asked, growing concern.

"They're a group that has been going around kidnapping children and teenagers," Tsuna said. "We suspect they are harvesting children's organs."

Reborn stared at Tsuna. Harvesting organs?! When had Tsuna found out about that? Before he could interrogate Tsuna, Reborn's cellphone went off. He pulled it out of his pants pocket, frowning at the number. It was Bianchi. Why was she calling so early in the morning?

"Ciaossu Bianchi."

"Reborn."

That was not Bianchi's usual greeting. That was not a good sign. "What's wrong Bianchi?" Reborn asked.

"I just saw some bastards kidnap Hayato!"

Well, those men were dead. Bianchi for all her dysfunctional relationship with her brother, clearly adored him and was always watching out for him since he had run away from home. That someone dared to kidnap Hayato was signing their death warrant.

"It looks like they kidnapped the Bovino heir too. The one that's always following you around," Bianchi continued.

… Lambo Bovino was in Namimori? Wait, no. That was not important. The pattern. "Bianchi by any chance was any of those men wearing a broken fairy wing emblem?" Reborn asked in a serious tone.

"At least one of them was. Why?"

Reborn frowned. Then loudly he said, "A group called Yousei are probably the ones that kidnapped Gokudera."

Tsuna paled at Reborn's words and scrambled for his desk. From his drawer, he pulled out a small orange tablet. "Is she on Senjo Street? You should have just passed Kinga Books."

"Yes, I did. Who is that Reborn?" Bianchi asked, sounding surprised.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Your student's twin? Shit, I lost them!"

"I still got them," Tsuna said. He stared at the moving red dot on the map displayed on the screen of his tablet.

"Did you tag the bomb herbivore?" Hibari asked, clearly amused.

"I was concerned!" Tsuna defended himself. "Those men were clearly targeting Gokudera-san yesterday and I wanted to make sure whatever happened, I could find him just incase. So I gave him a charm with a tracker in it."

Reborn was a little surprised that Tsuna would do such a thing in the first place. Very sneaky.

Hibari shook his head. "Omnivore's bad habits are rubbing off on you." He tilted his head to the side, looking expectantly at Tsuna.

Reborn was floored at what Hibari was asking in that subtle gesture. The Skylark was asking Tsuna what to do next. Judging from Fon's stunned expression, the idea that his very _proud_ nephew was waiting for an order like a loyal subordinate was… well… Reborn had no idea that Tsuna and Hibari's relationship went this deep. He had known they were friends and that Hibari was protective like all of Tsuna's friends. However, Hibari always came across as the aloof cloud that he was, never one to take orders and, Reborn assumed, the de facto leader of the group just by being the oldest and strongest. But this, this was clear submission and respect for Tsuna as a leader. Hibari was deferring to Tsuna.

… Namimori. Goddamn Namimori. Really, Reborn should be used to waking up to the world not making sense.

Judging by the wide smirk on Hibari's face, the prefect knew exactly what he was showing to Reborn and Fon.

And Tsuna appeared to be oblivious to the subtle cues being tossed around; his attention still on the screen as he typed out messages on his cellphone.

"Okay," Tsuna said. "I got the girls on backup with the Disciplinary Committee and they're picking up extra medical supplies. Neesan is in Minato-ku looking for Kinkan-sensei. Oniisan and Takeshi are swinging by the location that Oniisan and Kyoya-sempai found the other day to check in with the DC guards that were suppose to be guarding it. They haven't checked in yet. I'm worried that they were knocked unconscious. They'll stay there until more members from DC arrive to keep watch on it. Reborn, please tell Bianchi-san said to head straight down the street she's currently on for ten blocks then take a right and continue for another four blocks. She should arrive at the library. We'll pick her up there." Tsuna gave Hibari a small smile. "We'll be the front assault team, Kyoya-sempai. You, me, Reborn, Fon-san, and Bianchi-san."

A bloodthirsty smile crossed Hibari's face. "Let's bite them to death."

\---------------------------------------

**Hesitate**

They had quickly departed from the Sawada Household with a quick goodbye to Nana. Tsuna carried Reborn on his shoulder, eyes glued to the screen as he followed the blinking dot. Hibari matched his pace; Fon riding on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Fon said quietly.

Tsuna smiled. "It's no problem Fon-san. We've been trying to track this group for weeks. So, while I'm greatly concerned about Gokudera-san, this probably going to be our best lead. Ah…" Tsuna trailed off as he suddenly recognized where he was.

"Tsuna?" Reborn asked as Tsuna came to a stop.

In front of them was a concrete bridge across the ravine. Tsuna felt a sharp stab in his heart at the sight of the bridge. Bittersweet memories were entwined here. While ultimately the good that came from it was brilliant and outweigh of the bad, the bad was… really, really, really bad. He swallowed tightly, holding taut onto his emotions and tried to keep his breathing even.

"Don't force yourself, Tsunayoshi," Kyoya said lightly.

Tsuna ducked his head down and ignored the stinging sensation of tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. 'Focus, Tsuna,' he chided himself. 'Gokudera-san needs you. Don't dwell on the past here.' He gave a quick rub of his eyes, wiping away the tears before they could form and looked back at the down at the tablet.

"They're leaving Namimori," Tsuna said, panicking. "We need to hurry or I'll lose the range of the GPS tracker."

"Carnivore," Kyoya said, addressing Fon. "Go with Tsunayoshi. Take to the skies, Tetsuya will bring my bike to where the scorpion herbivore is."

Fon hopped over to Tsuna's other empty shoulder, looking very bemused to the entire situation.

Kyoya pinned the two Acrobaleno with a glare. "Keep him out of trouble," he ordered.

Tsuna frowned. "It's not like I going looking for trouble."

"No, trouble comes looking for you," Kyoya said, unamused.

"But."

"Kyoto Spring Trip."

Tsuna flushed red, remembering that trip. None of his friends were going to let him live that trip down. It wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault!

Ah. Tsuna blinked, realizing the anxiety had faded. "Thanks Kyoya-sempai," he said with a soft smile.

Kyoya merely huffed. "Go."

\---------------------------------------

**Birdsong**

Nana sighed softly after Tsuna left. Despite Tsuna's reassurances, she knew he was about to get himself mixed into something dangerous. Still, she had faith that his friends would be there to protect him.

A birdsong filled the room. Nana smiled, feeling calm. "Ara, Meishi is singing today."

\---------------------------------------

**Mochida Kensuke & Inmen Hisen **

Ienari looked up to hear the door to his hospital room slide open… and nearly fell out of his bed. To his ultimate surprise, Mochida and Inmen were visiting him. He wasn't even aware they knew he was in the hospital.

Inmen Hisen was… Ienari blushed slightly ducking his head as he gestured to the empty visitor seats. Inmen Hisen was… if Sasagawa Kyoko was the idol for Ienari's grade level, then Hisen-chan was the idol for the year above. With long black hair, cut in a hime-style and bright ocean blue eyes, Hisen-chan was beautiful in the way Kyoko was cute, more elegant and refined like a true born lady.

Mochida was captain of the Kendo team, whom Ienari often practiced his bo-staff techniques with was her cousin and just as a protective dog about her.

"Heard you got yourself landed in the hospital," Mochida said gruffly.

"And we came to visit!" Inmen cheerfully chirped, holding up a basket of fruits.

"T-thanks," Ienari sputtered out.

\---------------------------------------

**Get Up**

Ayame woke up to the feeling of pride, accomplishment and the crushing, numbing depression. Her chest constricted tightly, hollow and empty. She let out a dark and bitter laugh; she was so tired, so exhausted. Perhaps today she would do nothing but stay in bed.

Then her cellphone pinged, a text message from Tsuna. Ayame willed herself to check her phone.

' _Gokudera-san kidnapped by Yousei. Check on Kinkan-sensei, please?'_

Ayame stared at the message. There was a part of her, the violent and dark part that she kept locked up tight that wanted to nothing more hurl her cellphone at the wall and ignore the world. The rest of her, the part that Tsuna warmed, kept safe and sane, anchored in this world purred at Tsuna's request for help.

"As Tier use to say, if you start something, you see it through the end," Ayame said in a sadistic self-deprecating tone. She was the one who started this investigation into Yousei. She would not abandon it to Tsuna and his friends; she would see it through to the end. With a deep breath, Ayame got out of bed.

"Got it, Tsuna. Off to Tokyo I go."

\---------------------------------------

**Flight**

Tsuna could fly.

That was all Reborn could think about as orange sky flames were lit and Reborn found himself holding tight to Tsuna's orange hoodie as the ground departed away from them and Tsuna flew. Fon looked seriously off balanced, something Reborn sympathized with. At least the surprises within Namimori were slowly thrown at Reborn, giving him time to acclimatize. As far as Reborn knew, Fon arrived this morning, had seen his very proud, untamable nephew bow to another, said nephew willing addressed Fon as family, his apprentice was missing and now Tsuna just revealed he had Sky Flames and Hyper Dying Will Mode. It had to be very jarring for Fon.

…As much as it pained Reborn, he would have to correct Fon that Tsuna was not (unfortunately) his student.

Actually, having Fon in town might be a boon. Ienari could benefit from some meditation techniques to help unlock his flames.

But Tsuna could fly and somehow that felt very right.

"Are you two alright?" Tsuna asked. The wind blew around them, as Tsuna sped through the skies, leaving behind a trail of orange flames.

"Ah, yes," Fon said. "Thank you for asking."

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn warmed at the concern laced in Tsuna's words. "I'm fine." He paused, wondering if he should ask. It was a bit out of character for him, but Fon could handle another shock. "Are you?" he asked, letting the concern leak into his tone of voice. Tsuna's reaction to that bridge was odd.

"I will be once we get Gokudera-san back," Tsuna said firmly.

Reborn added the bridge the long list of things he had to find out about.

\---------------------------------------

**Takeshi and Ryohei**

"They're definitely not coming back here, sempai," Takeshi said, eyes sweeping the empty warehouse that Ryohei and Kyoya had been stalking yesterday. It looks like they slipped out during the night (Kyoya was going to bite someone to death for failing to keep an eye on building while he had returned home to rest), knocking the DC guards unconscious. The fact the DC members look like adults was probably the only reason why they weren't taken either.

"That appears to be the case," Ryohei agreed with a nod. "More of Kyoya's DC members just arrived. Let's leave this scene to them and head off to the location Tsuna has sent us."

Takeshi gave a light laugh, swinging Shigure Kintoki to rest on his shoulder. "Yeah, Kyoya-sempai said he had to send Tsuna ahead by himself with only the kid."

Ryohei shared a look with Takeshi, understanding passing between them. "That is extremely not good. The last time Tsuna went by himself the Kyoto Spring Trip happened." He paused. "I do not think Reborn-san knows yet how to keep Tsuna out of trouble."

"World's Greatest Hitman," Takeshi pointed out. "Even if he can't keep Tsuna out of trouble, he'll at least be able to keep Tsuna safe. But agreed. Let's get going."

\---------------------------------------

**Kyoko and Hana**

Kyoko and Hana landed on the rooftop of a building, 800 meters from the location Tsuna had given them for Yousei's hideout. Hana dumped the first aid kit to the ground and cast a wary look at the warehouse located just beyond the boundaries of Namimori and in the neighboring town.

"Why do our stupid monkey friends keep getting themselves mixed up in these things?" Hana lamented. Honestly. It was like there wasn't a week that didn't go by that the boys didn't get mixed up in some sort of mess that would bring them home covered in bruises. Was it too much to ask that they didn't seek out trouble? (Tsuna, of course, never sought out trouble, trouble merely came to him instead.)

Kyoko laughed brightly. "They're boys?" she offered.

"Stupid monkeys," Hana said. "The stupid monkey better appreciate all the trouble we're going through for him."

"Don't be like that, Hana," Kyoko said. "After all Gokudera-kun appears to be on our side."

"He's still a stupid monkey, still is mafioso, and technically still hasn't picked Tsuna yet," Hana countered.

"Give him time," Kyoko said. "It's barely been a month since Gokudera-kun has been here."

Hana sighed. This better be worth it.

\---------------------------------------

**Frontal Assault**

Sawada Tsunayoshi was not what Bianchi expected. When she had met the younger twin, she got exactly what she had expected from a civilian brat. But Tsunayoshi… she didn't have a single word to describe him. He was odd, charismatic, calm and why hadn't Nono picked Tsunayoshi as his heir? She had been in Tsuna's presence for all of five minutes and even if she couldn't see the sky flames lit on his head, she could feel it: feel the powerful flames that filled the air, all encompassing and engulfing but so very warm and soft like a mother's touch or a home cook meal. It was humbling, awe inspiring and Bianchi felt as if she was coming home.

This was what a boss was supposed to be. What a boss was.

Ienari had none of this. Tsunayoshi had this in spades.

Before she could dwell on it any longer, Tsuna simply held an ear comm out to her. Bianchi accepted after a quick look at a resigned Reborn and a bemused Fon, both wearing the ear comms too. As she listened to the break down the plans (and some how Tsuna was displaying the layout of the building on the little tablet he had been carrying), Bianchi couldn't help but marvel at the efficiency of the plan. This wasn't some half cock idea thrown together by a teenager who had no idea what they were doing. No, there was intel, communications devices, an estimation of how many men inside (82 apparently), a map, an exit strategy, backup waiting for them some distance away, an approximation of how many victims (50 or so), and two who would be going in the back while they drew attention to the front.

She had missions less sound than this. Why the fuck wasn't Tsuna a Vongola Decimo Candidate?

\---------------------------------------

**Chaos**

Chaos. That was the only word Reborn had to describe the situation. Beautiful, beautiful chaos. There was a part of him that revelled in chaos. Bullets and shouts rang. Hibari swept through the room, bloodlust thick in the air and tonfas flashing, attacking one after another. Sasagawa sent people flying with a single punch and Yamamoto slashed and cut. Tsuna, flameless but still deadly, slipped between the rain of bullets, knocking people with a punch and a kick; eyes glowing orange. Purple flumes from Bianchi's cooking filled the air and Fon jumped person to person, a single touch more than enough to cripple them.

Reborn? Reborn let Leon transform into a gun and was shooting people in the kneecaps.

There was a small part of Reborn, the logical part that could afford to ponder this, wondered where Tsuna and his friends learned to do all of this. Hibari was explainable with his iron fist rule over Namimori. Sasagawa and Yamamoto's proficiency in their chosen sport (boxing for Sasagawa and the family kendo style passed down to Yamamoto) could explain their fighting ability, but it did not explain their fighting experience. Normal people would freeze when confronted with a gun, or couldn't apply their fighting skills to outside of a ring. Yet all of them, Tsuna especially, Tsuna who used to flinch when Reborn fired bullets at Ienari and cowered at bullies, they took to attacking Yousei as if they had done this before. Had they accompanied Hibari on one of his cleanup of a yakuza group before? That would expose them to bullets and street fighting.

Like everything with Tsuna and his friends, it was another unexplained mystery. But Reborn would have to figure it out later.

\---------------------------------------

**Bloodstains**

Takeshi felt his blood boil and nausea and disgust grow in the pit of his stomach. With a swift cut, he knocked another man unconscious with the flat of his sword. Moving onto the next room, he slammed open the door, swallowing tight as the stench of blood hit him. Three dead bodies were in this room, thrown into a pile like they were trash to be discarded, their chests cut open and empty of all organs.

"Takeshi," Ryohei said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Takeshi closed his eyes and compartmentalized. Those kids were dead, but there still more that needed help.

\---------------------------------------

**Anger Burn**

Flames licked Tsuna's insides, raging and demanding to be let loose to burn and rage and consume and purify. He kept a tight grip on them. Yousei wasn't part of the mafia, there was no need to alert them to the existence of Dying Will Flames. His intuition rang, sending warnings and with practiced ease Tsuna didn't let fear grip him, moving and dodging the bullets and punches thrown at him.

His intuition tugged him to the left. It was not a warning, but something important was in that direction. Tsuna hoped it was Gokudera. Tsuna entered the room, immediately finding two children chained up. A small boy in cow-print, bawling his eyes out and nasty black eye on his face. A small girl in red, weak and unconscious. Reborn and Fon flashed in Tsuna's mind and he called out to them. "Reborn, Fon-san!"

Within seconds, the two Acrobaleno made their way to Tsuna. "Lambo Bovino and I-pin," Reborn confirmed as Fon rushed forward to check his apprentice. A flash of Storm Flames disintegrated the chains holding both children.

"Reborn, your Sun Flames, please," Fon asked, cradling I-pin. She looked terrible.

Reborn nodded, walking over and gathering his flames.

Tsuna on the other hand, picked up the crying Lambo. "Are you okay, Lambo?" Tsuna asked softly.

Lambo's cries abide into sniffles. "Who are you?" Lambo demanded to know.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna," Tsuna said warmly. "We're here to rescue you."

"I want to go home," Lambo wailed.

Tsuna bounced him softly. "I know. We'll get you home."

\---------------------------------------

**Greedy Pigs**

"Disgusting pigs," Bianchi said as another man fell unconscious from her poison cooking. She wanted to do nothing more than to treat these men to her worse poison for taking her brother, but Tsuna had requested that she didn't kill anyone.

" _Rage as freely as you like, but do not kill them."_

"Hn," Hibari agreed with her.

They entered the room to find rows and rows of children and teenagers lying unconscious on beds. The smell of antiseptic was strong and Bianchi could see the bloodied bandages on at least fifteen of the kids. It looked like some of them had their organs already harvested.

Her lip curled into a sneer. Bianchi grew up in the mafia, knew the darkness that accompanied it. It wasn't uncommon for mafia groups to do this very same thing, but it went against Bianchi's own code of conduct. Human life was more valuable than to be… livestock like this. She swept the room, looking for Hayato hoping that they hadn't taken any organs from him yet.

He was nowhere in sight. "Hayato isn't here," Bianchi said, broadcasting over the ear comm. "We found where all the missing kids are being kept. It looks like some of them had their organs harvested already."

"We found I-pin, Fon's apprentice and Lambo Bovino," Tsuna's voice reported back. "Gokudera-san isn't here."

"We found where they are dumping dead bodies," Yamamoto said in a tight voice. "Gokudera-san wasn't one of the dead bodies."

"Computer is here," Hibari said. He was sitting at the desk in the corner, typing at the keyboard and pulling up files. "I just sent the information to the Omnivore. Organs shipped out already; she can track them."

"I'll keep looking for Gokudera-san," Tsuna said. "Bianchi-san, Kyoya-sempai, please keep watch over the kids incase anyone tries to come in to use them as hostages."

"Got it," Bianchi said. "Find my brother."

"I will," Tsuna promised.

' _You better be safe, Hayato.'_

_\---------------------------------------_

**Minato Hospital**

Ayame smiled as she approached the information desk in the hospital lobby. "Good morning!" the nurse greeted her. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Kinkan-sensei?" Ayame asked.

The nurse hummed. "Ah, Kinkan-sensei has today off. I'm afraid you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Ah, thank you for your help," Ayame said. She wandered back out of the hospital. Glancing up at the white building, she frowned. So Kinkan wasn't home and wasn't at work. Where could he be? She supposed she could check his kid's house. After all, the man was doting grandfather. Perhaps on his day off he went over to spoil his favorite granddaughter.

Her cellphone pinged signaling that she had received a new email. Ayame opened the email and let out a low whistle. It looked like Tsuna and his friends were having better luck than her. She grimaced, noticing that several organs had already been shipped out. It seemed like they were too late to save them all. Still, judging from the list of organs the number of actual deaths shouldn't be that high. On some level, she was impressed that Yousei managed to pull off this many organ sales overnight. This had been building for a while and Kinkan must have had potential buyers lined up and ready to go.

Alright, change of plan, she needed a laptop and to make several phone calls. Every single kid still alive was getting back their organs.

\---------------------------------------

**Strength**

Ienari laid back on his bed, his mind swimming. Inmen and Mochida had left, leaving him to his thoughts. Ienari thought back to Koujin's words, Hideki-sempai's suggestions and his position as Decimo candidate. He scowled, angry and frustrated that he was stuck in the hospital.

Strength. He needed to get stronger and stronger. So that something as simple as training exercise would never land him in the hospital like this.

His mind wandered to his conversation with Koujin yesterday.

" _You know Reborn?" Ienari repeated the question back to Koujin who was looking very interested. That crept Ienari out. Koujin had a slight manic look his crimson red eyes._

" _Everyone who's anyone knows the world's greatest hitman. The better question is why do you know him?" Koujin questioned._

" _Does it matter?" Like hell was Ienari going to tell Koujin that he was a candidate to Vongola. Ienari trusted Koujin about as far as he could throw him. The bastard was as slippery as a snake._

" _Yeah. You're a bloody civilian," Koujin said, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes._

_What the hell did that mean! "So are you."_

" _Please," Koujin said, pulling his kunai out of the wall. "I'm a ninja assassin. Reborn is the goal for every assassin in the world. I bet you don't even know what Dying Will Flames are."_

" _What?" Ienari asked._

" _Exactly."_

" _What are Dying Will Flames?" Ienari asked._

" _Ask your tutor."_

Dying Will Flames. That sounded promising… and strong. The next time Reborn showed up, Ienari was going to demand to learn them.

\---------------------------------------

**Devotion**

This was bad.

Hayato woke with a pounding headache. He let out a hiss of pain. Fuck, this was bad. Really bad. He can't believe he let someone get a jump on him. Green eyes opened slowly, searching the room. Panic spiked as he realized that he strapped down to a metal table.

"Ah, you woke up," came a rough voice to his left.

Hayato twisted his head to see a middle-aged man with dressed in scrubs standing to the side. A white medical mask was over his face and a scalpel in his hand.

"Let me go," Hayato shouted.

"I can't do that," the man said. "You're the right blood type for a drug cartel teenage daughter. She needs a new stomach you see."

Hayato thrashed against his bonds, struggling to get free.

"A fighter I see," the man said. "Mai-san please ready the anesthesia."

"Of course Kinkan-sensei," the woman said.

Hayato strained against his bonds. "Let me go!" he howled.

"Don't worry," Kinkan said. "It'll all be over soon."

'Someone help me!'

BOOM!

The doors flew open and a blur flew in, kicking Kinkan squarely in the face. The doctor slammed into the wall, slumping unconscious. The blur moved and with a swift punch, knocked the woman assistant unconscious as well.

"Gokudera-san! Are you alright?"

Hayato stared at unfamiliar orange eyes and very familiar fluffy brown hair. "Tsuna-san?" Gratitude swelled within him. Someone came. Someone actually came to rescue him.

Tsuna nodded. "Let's get you out of here." He quickly pulled off the restraints off of Hayato.

The minute Hayato was free, he dropped to his knees and bowed.

"Gokudera-san! Are you alright?" Tsuna yelped, worried.

"I am fine, Tsuna-sama! Thank you for rescuing me! I am forever in your debt!" Hayato pronounced. No one has ever come to rescue him before. Hayato always had to rely on himself to get himself out of trouble. That alone improved Hayato's already good opinion of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Candidate for Decimo he may not be, but Hayato had made his choice, he would follow Sawada Tsunayoshi to the end of the earth.

"Gokudera-san," Tsuna said, tugging the bomber back to his feet. "Really, it's not trouble. I'm not the only one who came for you. There's no need to bow."

Hayato blinked. More people came to help rescue him? Tsuna pulled him out into a large room where bodies and bodies of people laid unconscious. The baseball idiot and turf top head were busy tying people up, while the skylark was on the phone with someone. Was… that Fon? In the corner with two small children and Reborn.

Amazing. Tsuna-sama managed to bring together this many people to rescue him. Hayato never thought there were would be anyone who would do that for him. He felt his heart warm.

"Hayato."

That sounded like his sister. Hayato turned around to see Bianchi standing behind him, looking worried. Instantly his stomach lurched and he felt a wave of nausea hit him. He fell, clutching his stomach. That was his sister!

"Gokudera-san!" Tsuna called out in worry. "Gokudera-san!"

Hayato meant to reassure Tsuna-sama. But the stress of seeing his sister for the first time in months, coupled with his kidnapping was too much and once more he passed out, unconscious.

"Gokudera-san!"

\---------------------------------------

**As Expected**

Ayame stared.

Tsuna bit his lip, nervously, but didn't waver in his gaze.

(Ayame was secretly very proud of that.)

Ayame stared, willing Tsuna to back to down. He didn't. No, instead, she felt him strengthen his resolve. Why couldn't his resolve be this strong all the time? Finally, she relented. "Okay," she said, resigning. Really, she should have expected this.

Tsuna immediately brightened and hugged her. "Thanks Neesan!"

Ayame let out a pitiful whine as Tsuna pulled away, turning his attention back to the kids who were beginning to regain consciousness one by one. She stared at the… well carnage that Tsuna and his friends had created while rescuing Gokudera and at all the kids they had saved.

Her head pounded like a sledgehammer drilling in her head. What a headache. She winced at the three dead bodies of the kids that Tsuna had asked her to help find the families for so they knew what happened to their kids. And to help pay for funeral costs. Interpol by now was in route to pick up the organs that were stolen, arresting several people for black market organ dealing. This was going to generate so much paperwork.

She sighed. Tsuna often asked for the moon, and Ayame always gave it to him.

\---------------------------------------

**Second Coming**

"When I had arrived in Namimori, this was not what I had expected," Fon said softly. I-pin rested on his lap, healing, but still unconscious. "I had expected that maybe Kyoya would have accompanied me in rescuing I-pin, but overall, I had figured I would have done all the searching by myself."

Reborn gave a contemplative survey of their surroundings. Hibari had taken over tying up the criminals, tossing them at his subordinates to haul off to the police station. Yamamoto and Ryohei had taken to keeping the younger children, including Lambo, entertained and suitably distracted from their strange circumstances. Kurokawa and Kyoko had appeared to first aid boxes and food, feeding those who were hungry and bandaging the wounds of everyone they came across. Gokudera was unconscious still, but healthy and lying on a worried Bianchi's lap. Ayame had arrived from somewhere and was typing away on a laptop, looking oddly frustrated and resigned.

Tsuna continued to flit among everyone, reassuring the older teenagers, giving words of comfort to those who needed it and a warm smile. Hugs were given to the younger children, gentle and mindful of those who were injured. He gave orders to the newly arriving DC members, directing them to which of his friends needed additional help or supplies. Blankets were quickly distributed by Tsuna and he went around making sure everyone felt comfortable.

"You're doing a fine job of turning Tsunayoshi into Vongola Decimo," Fon said, admiration coloring his tone.

Reborn tilted his fedora down. "No, unfortunately Tsuna isn't my student."

Fon turned to Reborn, surprised. "Is his twin brother that much more suited?"

Reborn thought about Ienari, thought about Ienari's hatred for Tsuna, his regrets and actions. He thought about Ienari's kindness, his manipulative nature and his twisted words. He thought about Ienari's pale light compared to Tsuna's brilliance. Tsuna's warm heart and accepting smile. Tsuna's pure Sky Flames and strong resolve to live. In many ways, Reborn was no different than Giotto and Nana and between the two twins, Reborn had already made his choice. "No," Reborn said, weary and tired. "Ienari isn't more suited compared to Tsuna. But it is Nono's and Iemitsu's decision and Tsuna has no desire to seek Vongola."

"I see," Fon said.

Reborn knew that, no, the Storm Acrobaleno really didn't see. If Fon stayed, perhaps he would pick up on the strangeness that was Namimori and the Sawada Twins. Then and only then would he understand.

"It's a shame," Fon said. "They would have been radiant."

Privately, Reborn agreed. As he watched Tsuna and his friends, he didn't just see a strong Decimo and his guardians.

No.

He saw the second coming of Primo and his guardians.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS DONE! -cheers- This brings an end to the Yousei Arc! Now onward to the rest of the Daily Arc. OTL -looks at the list of canon characters that still need to be introduced- OTL We've got a while until we reach Mukuro's arc.
> 
>  **Bilingual Bonus**  
>  Yousei - Bewitching Spirit, Fairy  
> Kinkan - Fairy Ring, Mushroom Rings
> 
>  
> 
> **General notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> Why Fairies? The myth of Changelings is what inspired the theme of Yousei. Changelings are when fairies would steal newborn children and replace them with other fairies or inanimate objects.
> 
> Fairy Rings are said to be caused by fairy (or elves) dancing. They are dangerous to intruders (accidental or otherwise). There's one legend where stepping into a Fairy Ring will cause the person to die young.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Warnings:** N/A  
>  **Important Stuff:** N/A
> 
> -sends buckets and buckets of love to all you wonderful readers- I love you guys okay? Just I really love you guys. You guys are amazing. Thank you to those who keep my company in the PMs encouraging me to write. The motivation you guys provide is amazing! Thank you so much.

**Busy Household**

Nana welcomed the newest guests with as much love and fanfare as she possibly could. Without even questioning it, Bianchi was put into the guestroom and she would be sharing with I-pin once she recovered. Lambo and Fon got Ienari's currently empty bedroom and Reborn staked his claim in Tsuna's room.

With the Yousei Incident neatly wrapped up, everyone had trudged back to the Sawada House. The first few nights, to Reborn's endless amusement, all of Tsuna's friends slept over in giant puppy piles in the living room. Gokudera wasn't let out of anyone's sight during that time, nor was Lambo. I-pin woke the second day and was ecstatic to find Fon watching over her.

It was amusing to watch.

Ayame came and went, to Reborn's endless ire; he had not been able to corner her. It seemed to be she came when Reborn left and was gone by the time he had been returned. If Ienari hadn't been his student, Reborn would have remained in the Sawada Household until he managed to corner her, but he still had a job to fulfill, no matter his feelings towards Ienari. So training for Ienari continued while Reborn kept a close eye on Tsuna and his friends. If he didn't sympathize so much, the confusion he felt Fon enduring would have been amusing. Still, at least someone would be suffering with him.

"Reborn," Fon said, gesturing to the outside balcony where they would have some privacy.

Reborn nodded and followed his fellow Arcobaleno out. It would figure it would take Fon less than a week to piece things together.

\---------------------------------------

**Recap**

Fon had concluded Namimori was strange. He hadn't noticed it last year when he had visited with I-pin, but Namimori was strange, and the longer he stayed in the Sawada Household the more evident it became. It was small little things, starting off with Reborn's behavior.

For Fon, Reborn had always been in control, accepting nothing less than perfection in everything he did and the people around him. The world and its people conformed around him, bending to his rules and reality. The hitman had been nothing but cool, suave, and dangerous. Yet the Reborn Fon found in Namimori was… different. Reborn was still cool, suave, and dangerous, but at the same time, he was softer, more subdued, gentle and very much hands-off. This Reborn was sitting back, letting the world go as it pleased, watching and waiting for something to happen.

The defining point was the Sawada Twins. Fon had been allowed to observe Reborn training Ienari. Bullets being fired for every wrong answer to questions as Reborn drilled into Ienari the ethics and politics of a mafia boss. That was a familiar Reborn and one Fon had expected. The Spartan tutor training method was tested and true after all.

But around Tsuna, Reborn seemed to be -dare Fon think it- fond of the boy and his friends. The hitman was indulging them. His tutoring of Tsuna was with patience and understanding and without bullets and bombs, and Reborn followed Tsuna and his friends around when he wasn't training Ienari.

The most telling was Reborn let Tsuna pick him up, hug him and carry him. In fact, Reborn spent more time sitting on Tsuna's lap at home, Tsuna's arms loosely wrapped around him, than anywhere else. Fon was not jealous, but that was not fair because Tsuna was warm and reminded Fon of a home that he long ago lost. So he compromised and took Tsuna's free shoulder.

Kyoya just looked amused the entire time Fon had done this.

His nephew was another strange point. Fon and Kyoya have never seen eye to eye ever since Kyoya was old enough to understand (and comprehend) what exactly Fon did as a job and his connection to the Chinese Triads. Every time Fon took the time to visit, Kyoya always met him with unwavering hatred and an unbendable pride. Kyoya hadn't called him Uncle in years.

And yet, he introduced Fon as his uncle to Tsuna and then bowed to Tsuna like a subordinate to a boss. This was his untamable, unmovable, free floating cloud, aloof, and violent nephew. Shock did not even cover what Fon felt toward that information. When had this happened? How had Fon missed it?

"Namimori is a strange place," Fon said, as an opening salvo.

Reborn snorted. "Strange does not even cover it," he said tiredly.

That was another thing different about Reborn. The hitman had an excellent poker face, but the exhausted resignation and simmering frustration reflected in his black eyes, that was new.

"Do you know why?" Fon asked, fishing. Reborn always kept his cards close to this chest. Fon would learn the information he sought, depending on Reborn's mood.

"You're going to have to be more specific," Reborn said, mirth leaking into his tone.

How to word it? Start with the obvious. "People treat Tsuna poorly," Fon said. "I accompanied him to the park with Lambo and I-pin and in those few short blocks, three people tried to trip him, another purposely bumped into him and didn't apologize and one tried to mug him."

Reborn nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Fon blinked, surprised by the admission. He would have figured that would have been the first thing Reborn would have found out.

"People treat Tsuna as a walking scapegoat. They haven't gone back to school yet, but you should see the fragrant amount of bullying Tsuna suffers in school. The teachers do nothing and Tsuna's only defense is his friends. No one, of course, can tell me why, just that it has always been like this as far back as anyone can remember. The ones who could probably tell me, remain tight lipped on the matter. Anything else you've noticed?" Reborn asked.

Fon frowned at that information. What would cause people to treat Tsuna like that? He was a nice boy, if only a little clumsy, but that was no excuse for people to bully and terrorize the small brunet.

Hesitating, Fon was unsure how to breach the next topic, not knowing it if would offend Reborn. "Ienari… it is not that he's a bad person, but there's something off about him. He is genuinely a nice boy, is polite, well mannered and very smart. He absorbs all of your lessons like the sponge. In fact, I would have not been surprised if he became Decimo fairly early. You could not ask for a better student." He trailed off, trying to explain the oddity he felt around Ienari.

"But… compared to Tsuna last week, it feels… perplexing," Fon said; eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Tsuna's flames are welcoming, like coming home. Ienari on the other hand shows no flame potential and what little I do catch, it isn't nearly as… warm. Sharp even. And Ienari is constantly leaking flames."

Reborn nodded. "Ienari's flames were sealed by Nono when he was a child. That's part of the reason why Ienari was chosen as successor because it was known that Ienari had Sky Flames where as Tsuna had shown no potential. They trickle out very slowly but are mostly restrained thanks to the seal. Have you noticed? Nana goes to see Ienari every day at the hospital, but Tsuna never goes."

Fon nodded. He found it odd that Tsuna didn't go to visit his brother in the hospital. It didn't match the friendly personality of Tsuna.

"Apparently, the first rule of Namimori is to keep the Sawada Twins apart. If you can avoid having them together in the same room, do so, otherwise, be prepared to be a buffer in between them. All of Tsuna's friends try and keep Tsuna as far away from Ienari as possible. Before Ienari went into the hospital, I use to train him until he was unconscious and both Nana and Tsuna slept better through the night once I started that," Reborn explained.

Fon openly gaped. "Why?"

"Ienari apparently wants Tsuna dead for some reason," Reborn said casually as Fon choked. "Again, no one can tell me why, Tsuna is unable to speak about it and my instincts warn against asking Ienari, though I doubt I'll be able to get a straight answer from him. Once Ienari is home, keep them apart, Fon. The fallout was not pretty."

Closing his eyes, Fon felt his head pulse at the growing headache. "Kyoya knows, doesn't he? That's why he's so protective of Tsuna."

"Most likely. Tsuna's friends all remain tight lipped," said Reborn. "Though, I suspect it has to do more with the fact that I'm here as Ienari's tutor and then out of pure spite not to tell me."

That would make sense. If the goal was to keep the twins apart, then all of Tsuna's friends would see Reborn, being Ienari's tutor, as an enemy. If Reborn was to side with Ienari, then telling Reborn the weakness, the reason why, would be counterproductive to them protecting Tsuna.

"But you like Tsuna more," Fon said.

Reborn said nothing, tilting his hat down to hide his eyes.

"That Ayame girl is strange too," Fon said, allowing the subject to change.

"There's no information on her," Reborn said. "The informants turned up nothing aside from her address and age. They can't even confirm her last name, much less bank records, birth certificate, family history, absolutely nothing."

Fon blinked, stunned. "How is that possible?"

Reborn shrugged. "The same way how the informants didn't have any information on Yousei. I didn't even know until the morning we attacked that Yousei was an organ plant group. Tsuna said Ayame was the one who told them about Yousei, so she is also probably the one who informed them that Yousei was an organ plan. If she can find information that no one else can, it would make sense that she could obscure her records to make sure no one can trace her. Cornering her has been an impossible mission in itself and she keeps coming and going without a care in the world."

"That makes her better than Viper," Fon said quietly.

"At least Viper's methods make sense," Reborn retorted. "Tsuna was not surprised to learn about the mafia. Given his reaction to your introduction as the Storm Arcobaleno, it suggests that he knows about us too. The extent of their knowledge has not been discussed, but they clearly know more than they should and I'm willing to bet it is because of Ayame. Nana knows about the mafia."

Fon glanced back inside at the cheerful but oblivious housewife. "She does?" Fon asked. While extremely friendly and welcoming, Fon had found it odd that the woman hadn't even questioned where they had all come from, where their parents were, much less let them stay without any fuss.

"Nana said she knows enough, enough that she was always going to lose one son to Vongola, enough to know that her husband is lying to her. She has not said the depth of her knowledge nor how she came to learn…" Reborn trailed off.

"You suspect the Ayame is responsible for that too?" Fon asked.

"It fits with everything else," Reborn said.

"I've noticed you have been trying to talk to her all week long," Fon said. "She does not even stay long in my presence either." Ayame would be there one minute, gone the next and Fon had no idea where she was going or leaving. She didn't announce it like most people, didn't even seem to be using the front door like most people and it would take an hour or so for Fon to realize, she had left and would not be coming back, but other times she would disappear and reappear ten minutes later. It was strange and despite the fact that she was very close to Tsuna and his friends, she had yet to stay for a meal.

"Yes. It's annoying," Reborn said.

Fon looked back inside the house. Nana had moved on to washing the dishes; the kids were beginning to slowly leave, Kyoya, though, remained in the corner, waiting and watching. "There is one more thing that bothers me," Fon said. "But it is a small thing. However, for some reason, it stands out."

"Oh? What is that?" Reborn asked.

"Who does the white plate with blue moons belong to?" Fon asked. He had noticed that Nana frequently made food and placed it on a white plate with blue moons. But no one ever claimed it within Fon's sight. In fact, he would look away only to look back to see that the food had disappeared.

To his surprise, Reborn let out a bark of laughter. "I'm surprised you noticed that because you're right, it's a small minor detail."

"It's just everything seemed to be themed or colored for a certain person," Fon said. "In fact, there's a whole cupboard full of plates just for a specific person. You have a green plate, a green coffee cup, a green bowl, all the same shade as Leon, I noticed. Those of us who don't have a specific set, it seems to be because we're just newcomers to the household. Kyoya has a set! But for nearly every meal we've had here, Nana-san never fails to make food for the white plate with blue moons. However, I've never noticed anyone actually using that plate."

"I once sat in front that plate and watched it for over four hours. The food disappeared but no one came into the kitchen," Reborn said dryly. "I'm starting to suspect ghosts."

Fon blinked. "Ghost?" As in the supernatural? Magical flames aside, Fon didn't believe in the supernatural and he was certained Reborn didn't either. Why would ghosts even be something that Reborn would consider?

"Nana said after I came to live here, that there are nine people living in the household. Tsuna, Ienari, herself and me. That left five people unaccounted for," Reborn explained.

Fon's eyebrow raised, perplexed by Reborn's words. "How is that possible? We've been here a week and we're already taking up majority of the free space."

Reborn shrugged. "Ienari doesn't know who they are, Tsuna and Nana apparently do. The identity of the remaining five was explained as one doesn't eat, three can take care of themselves and the last doesn't always live with them."

"That doesn't explain the white plate with blue moons at all."

"Exactly. I know who is the one that doesn't eat, but there's no point telling you because you won't believe me until you meet them yourself," Reborn said.

Fon merely stared.

Reborn just gave a sardonic smile. "Welcome to Namimori and the Sawada Household."

\---------------------------------------

**Engrave Those Feelings**

It was by chance that Hana woke up before everyone else in her household. It was a good thing too, because she found Ayame curled up under their kitchen table again. At least this time, she had the mindset to take with her a pillow and blanket. Hana let out a sigh, not wanting to wake up her up because clearly Ayame needed the sleep.

But in about twenty minutes or so, her parents would be up and they always freaked out a little when they found Ayame under their kitchen table. Partly because they didn't know how she was getting into their house, and mostly, why on earth was she under the table?

"Ayame," Hana said, shaking her awake.

Tired golden eyes snapped open and Hana felt a stab of guilt. Dark circles under Ayame's eyes, dark enough to look like bruises were just the tip of the exhaustion the young woman must be feeling. Ayame definitely needed more sleep, but given how noisy her family was in the morning, it wasn't like Ayame was going to find rest here.

"Neesan," Hana said quietly. "Time to get up. It's going to get noisy in the kitchen soon."

Ayame nodded, rolling out from under the table. She shuffled into the living room to dump her pillow and blanket in the closet where Hana kept them before returning to the kitchen table and slumped across the table.

Hana who had started a pot of tea, pour into a gray cup with a stylish K logo and slid it over to Ayame. She knew full well that food would not be welcomed for at least another hour while Ayame tried to muster up the energy to even care. "You look like shit," Hana said, blunt as usual. "Tsuna is going to be mad if you're overworking yourself again."

Curling her hands around the warm cup, Ayame chuckled. "I am never not overworking myself."

"Seriously, slow down. Or at least let us help," Hana demanded.

"Hm."

Hana suppressed the urge to sigh. Ayame was nothing but stubborn and most likely she would spin some tale about how she was older and thus should be the one to handle it. Hana scoffed at the thought. That meant nothing if she was working herself to the point of exhaustion.

"You need more sleep," Hana said.

"That's why I'm here."

"Surely there are more comfortable places than under my kitchen table?" Hana asked. She never really questioned why Ayame slept under their kitchen table. Too tired to take out the futon aside, the couch was a perfectly viable option. She knew Ayame often slept on Kyoko's couch, so why on earth did Ayame always end up under the kitchen table?

Ayame merely blinked at her owlishly. "But it is comfortable?" she said in a bemused tone.

"It's the floor," Hana countered.

Ayame continued to look at her confused.

Hana merely sighed. It didn't pop up as often anymore, but there were times when Hana forgot that Ayame seemed to exist outside of normal social niceties. It wasn't like the older girl didn't know them, she acknowledged that they existed and had the basics down, but then Ayame would do things like sleeping under the kitchen table and not realize it was not normal at all. Not to mention, the whole breaking into people's houses to sleep in the first place, but Hana and her parents had long given up trying teach Ayame otherwise in that aspect. Frankly, it was like Ayame followed a completely different set of rules than the rest of society. 'Let's not even start on her frighteningly lack of understanding toward human relationships; platonic, romantic, friendship or familial it doesn't matter, Ayame always struggles to understand the subtle cues,' Hana thought, ironically.

Back when they first met, Hana had invited Ayame over for dinner one day with her family. It wasn't even funny how hopelessly lost she looked at the dinner table with her parents, Kyoko, Ryohei and herself. Ayame had spent the night looking distinctly uncomfortable, despite the good cheer that filled the atmosphere or friendly conversation her parents tried to draw her into. These days, Ayame relaxed more when sitting down to eat with other people, Nana's cooking, Kyoko and Hana often dragging her out for cake, Tsuna's gentle insistence and even Takeshi dragging all of them back to Takesushi had finally desensitized Ayame to group eating.

What did it say about Ayame's own family that sitting down for dinner with people seemed like a strange and foreign thing? Ayame, however, never said anything and to this day, Hana still didn't know anything about Ayame's past before she met Tsuna. Sometimes Hana wondered if Tsuna even knew.

Alright, a different angle then.

"Why do you find sleeping under the kitchen table more comfortable than say the couch?" Hana asked.

"Oh," Ayame said quietly. "You can't… that probably explains it then." Her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "Do you have a favorite stuffed animal, Hana?" she asked.

Hana's eyebrow rose, but she answered, too use to Ayame's frequent subject jumps. "Yes."

"Why is it your favorite?" Ayame asked, searching for her bag. She grabbed it off the counter and went digging through it.

"I've had it forever," Hana said.

"But what makes it different than any other stuffed animal you had for just as long?" Ayame asked. "I'm sure you didn't just have one stuffed animal growing up."

Hana paused. That was true; she use to have an entire closet full of stuffed animals growing up. Why did she always wander back to the one pink rabbit, matted and seams tearing? "Nostalgia?" she finally asked.

"Close enough," Ayame said. "I mean, that's part of the reason and probably the best physical answer you receive. Brain chemistry, great thing." She laid two 500 yen coins on the table. "Good thing I hadn't gotten rid of these yet. What's the difference between these coins?"

Hana stared at them. "Is that a trick question?" she asked.

"No."

"They're the same thing. I mean, if you want to get technical, they were made in different years, one is starting to rust a little," Hana pointed out.

"Pick them up," Ayame said, gesturing to them with a swept of her hand.

Hana did so. The one on the right felt warm, but the left... She shrieked, dropping the left one and shaking her hand to get rid of the slimy feeling. "What was that?" Hana demanded.

"The one on the right is from a kind old lady who repaid me for helping her clean her yard. The one on the left was taken from a greedy thief who killed their victim," Ayame said. "People can engrave feelings into objects. Both negative and positive feelings. It usually takes a long time or some very intense feelings. Unsurprisingly, it's easier to engrave negative feelings, but any well loved object usually picks up positive ones."

Ayame glanced down at the simple cherry wood table and gave it a swift knock. "This table has been in your family for a while, right?"

Hana nodded. It was originally her grandmother's and when her mother had gotten married, her grandmother gave it to her.

A wistful smile played on Ayame's face; the tired look in her golden eyes grew distant. "There are some nice feelings engraved onto this table." She rested her cheek in her hand, closing her eyes. "They're warm feelings, the feeling of family I suppose. That love, the good and bad times, the celebrations and happiness. I suppose that's what family would feel like at least."

Hana stared at the table, trying to feel what Ayame was describing. To her, it was just a table, but the memories were there. It was at this table she celebrated all her birthdays at, at this table her family sat down to eat at every night, at this table where she got good news ("We won a trip to Hawaii!") and bad news ("Honey, daddy had a small accident and he is in the hospital"). There. A small pulse of warmth.

Running her hand across the smooth surface, Hana looked up at Ayame. "Why can I feel that?" she asked.

"Side effect of hanging out with Giotto and his friends," Ayame said. "They spread spirit particles and that makes everyone who hangs out with them, yourself included, a little more sensitive." She chuckled lightly. "In my case, it partly had to do with growing up near a shrine."

"So let me get this straight. You feel a sense of… family from my kitchen table. This is why you're always sleeping under the kitchen table?" Hana asked.

Ayame nodded, sipping the cooled tea.

Hana frowned, trying to match the puzzle pieces. Like with Tsuna, there were just as many clues hidden in what wasn't said when it came to Ayame. Feelings could be engraved into objects. If the sense of family was the reason why Ayame kept coming back to Hana's kitchen table, was it the same for everyone else? While it might be plausible for Kyoko and Ryohei's couch, the same could not be said for Takeshi's closet or Tsuna's bed. Or wherever Ayame slept in Kyoya's house.

"But you don't feel the same thing at everyone's houses, that's why it always changes where you end up sleeping," Hana said.

The curl of a smile on Ayame's lips alerted Hana that she was spot on with her assumption.

"So what feelings do you get at Kyoko's?" Hana asked.

"Happiness on their couch, where the two of them sit down to watch movies and sport matches, having good fun and laughter," Ayame said mildly. "Protection in Takeshi's closet, where he keeps his sword. Peace at Kyoya's, that should be self-explanatory. Freedom under that Sakura tree where birds often make their nest. Dreams in shelves of Kinga Bookstores. Though, I rarely seek those last two out."

"And at Tsuna's?" Hana asked.

Something dark and broken flashed in Ayame's eyes. Her smile twisted into something frail. "I think you already know that," she said lightly.

Yeah. Hana did.

\---------------------------------------

**Read to Me**

The door to his hospital room slid open. Ienari looked up and sighed. That kid was back again. The other day the nurse had taken Ienari out with the other kids for some playtime. Ienari had been bored out his mind (so much that he was actually looking forward to Reborn's arrival.)

Somehow he ended reading stories to the younger kids. This one kid, Tanaka Tenzo got attached to Ienari and since then kept coming back for Ienari to read to him.

"Sawada-san read me a story?" Tenzo asked. The three year old held up Momotaro.

"Tanaka-kun don't bother Sawada-kun," the nurse said, entering the room. She reached out to grab Tenzo.

"It's fine," Ienari said. He lifted Tenzo up to his bed. "I don't mind. I have nothing better to do."

"Yay! Thank you!" Tenzo said.

Ienari opened the book as Tenzo settled into the nook of Ienari's arms. "A long, long time ago an old man and his wife..."

\---------------------------------------

**Arsène Lupin**

Reborn blinked as he entered the living room. Curled up on the couch was Tsuna, reading a book.

Jumping on the couch, Reborn walk over and took a seat on Tsuna's shoulder. "What are you reading Tsuna?" Reborn asked, peering at the book.

"Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar," Tsuna said absentmindedly. He flipped the page.

Reborn stared. "... Tsuna," Reborn said slowly. "This is the original French version of Arsène Lupin."

Tsuna blinked, turning his head to look at Reborn. "Yes…" he said hesitantly.

… There was nothing in Tsuna's files that even implied Tsuna knew French, much less shown an interest in learning the language! Reborn knew they were horribly done, but this was getting ridiculous!

"When did you learn to read French?" Reborn asked.

"When you spend three months in France, surrounded by people who don't speak a lick of Japanese and desperately in need of a distraction, it does wonders for your ability to learn a new language," Tsuna said, not meeting Reborn's eyes.

"That's why, not when," Reborn pressed lightly. "You were in France for three months?" Did Iemitsu even actually send actual informants to double check what he knew on Tsuna when Reborn requested detailed profiles on his sons? Ienari's profile was accurate for the most part, but Tsuna's was so wrong it wasn't even funny. Or was this Ayame's possible ability to obscure information?

Tsuna bit his lip. "A few weeks after my tenth birthday," he said finally. His amber eyes were dark. "I had to leave Namimori for a while. At first it was just it was me and Neesan. Kyoya-sempai showed up eventually and I… ah dragged Takeshi with me at one point. Same for oniisan, Kyoko and Hana too. We came back for Christmas and New Years before returning permanently at the end of January."

Reborn nodded, filing away the information. There was something else behind this story, but he had recognized that look in Tsuna's eyes. This was something not to push on and perhaps it had to do with whatever happened between Ienari and Tsuna. " _Merci de me l'avoir dit._ "

" _Pas de quoi,"_ Tsuna replied.

\---------------------------------------

**Teach Me**

"Teach me Dying Will Flames," Ienari said the moment Reborn entered the room.

Lips pressed together, Reborn wondered where exactly Ienari had heard about Dying Will Flames. Was Shamal's hypnotism failing? No, impossible. "How do you know about Dying Will Flames?" Reborn said darkly. Leon had transformed in his gun form and Reborn flared his bloodlust.

To his student's credit, Ienari flinched, but held his ground. "Koujin Fuun," Ienari said.

Reborn let his bloodlust fade away. Of course the Koujin boy would be the one to mention it to Ienari. The young assassin was an arrogant one; he was quite lucky that Ienari was a part of Vongola and that Reborn knew Koujin was a possible Cloud Guardian candidate for Ienari. (Hibari would not be moved from Tsuna's side and Reborn would not force him.) Nevertheless, Reborn felt his irritation spike. "You will learn Dying Will Flames when I feel you are ready," Reborn said darkly.

"When will that be?" Ienari asked, temper flaring.

Honestly, his student's temper issues. Somehow Reborn's patience always felt much shorter around Ienari. He wasn't too concerned about teaching Dying Will Flames to Ienari, knowing that Tsuna had them as well and was clearly more experience with them. No, Reborn was more concern in making sure Tsuna defended himself when Ienari undoubtedly went after him. Not to mention Reborn refused to use Dying Will Bullets on Ienari again, so the long method had to be implemented. The seal Nono had used on Ienari would make the process even longer. "Dying Will Flames take years to awaken and master," Reborn said sharply.

"Isn't there a shortcut method?" Ienari asked.

"There is," Reborn said. There would be no point in hiding that knowledge from Ienari. If Ienari did inherit Vongola, Ienari would come to learn about Dying Will Bullets sooner or later. And it was still a strong possibility that Ienari would become Decimo because Fon was right; Ienari was a good student, and a good potential Decimo. His flaws aside, there was no such thing as a perfect person after all, Ienari had all the qualifications to be Decimo. Even some of his flaws were good traits for a mafia boss to have, his desire for strength and his ability to manipulate people (as unknowing as it appeared to be). He was still a strong Sky, one that drew people into his sphere of influence as easily as sand slipping through an hourglass.

Reborn just happened to know that Tsuna was a more powerful Sky. But Tsuna, no matter how powerful his Sky Flames were, he was just too gentle, too kind. The mafia would eat him alive and that was the last thing Reborn wanted to see. Plus, Tsuna was still hiding in the shadow of his twin, not allowing the world to see how much brighter he was. It was frustrating, seeing how far Tsuna could go, the person he would be, but yet the world seemed to be conspiring to keep him sullied in dirt and grime. The rescue of Gokudera and the takedown of Yousei was just a small slice of what Reborn knew Tsuna could be able to do in the future.

The only issue with Ienari was his apparent hatred toward Tsuna and this general sense of wrongness that only a few people seemed to feel. Convincing Nono and Iemitsu that Ienari was not cut out to be Decimo would be close to impossible. Still, perhaps it was time to open the discussion of Tsuna being a candidate to Nono. Tsuna's victory over Yousei would be more than enough proof that he at least deserved a chance.

What a contradiction. Reborn didn't want Ienari to be Decimo because he didn't want his student to inherit any more power that could potentially hurt his Sky. But he didn't want Tsuna to be Decimo because that would taint Tsuna's brightness with blood and death.

Reborn wished he knew what happened between the twins just so it would be easier to make a decision which one would be better suited to inherit the bloodiest and most powerful mafia famiglia.

"Can I learn the shortcut method?" Ienari asked.

"No," Reborn said. "Test results showed you will have a negative reaction to it. Unless you want to prolong your stay in the hospital?"

Paling, Ienari shook his head. "No," he groaned. "I'm already bored out of my mind."

A gleam entered Reborn's eyes. "Well, that can be remedied. You're going to learn everything about Dying Will Flames Basics by the end of today."

No harm in teaching Ienari Dying Will Flames basics. The seven types of Flames of the Sky and the fact that Ienari would have to start gathering guardians.

The problem with Ienari being such a good student was Reborn was running out of "safe" things to teach him.

\---------------------------------------

**Report II**

Nono,

Have begun teaching basics of Dying Will Flames to Ienari.

I would like to open the discussion regarding Tsunayoshi. He recently took down an organ plant group to rescue one of his kidnapped friends. It was executed flawlessly, showing Tsunayoshi has leadership skills, a tactical mind, and intel gathering. Please see attached report. He has a good heart and the information given to me by Iemitsu were completely off the mark. I believe he has potential and it would be a waste to not let him try.

I know you want to return Vongola to Primo's ideals. Tsunayoshi will be your best choice.

Ienari will most likely continue Vongola's history of bloodshed.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Report II Revised**

Nono,

Have begun teaching basics of Dying Will Flames to Ienari.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Why Not This Way?**

"Good morning Tsuna-sama!"

Tsuna blinked, surprised to see Gokudera waiting outside for him. Today was the first day Tsuna was returning back to school. (Kyoya was getting antsy that they were skipping… again.) Takeshi usually came over to walk with Tsuna to school, but this was the first time Tsuna had found Gokudera waiting for him outside of his door.

"Gokudera-san?" Tsuna asked, confused. "Why are you here?"

"You need escort protection on the way to school, Tsuna-sama," Gokudera said with a bow.

Tsuna tugged Gokudera back upright, pulling him down the street. "Gokudera-san, there's no need to address me as "sama". Just Tsuna or even "san" like you use to, please. I don't need protection really." Heaven forbid if Gokudera joined the rest of his friends in their mad 'Protect Tsuna at All Cost' Club.

"But," Gokudera said, pouting in a way that made Tsuna feel like he had just kicked a puppy. "That would be disrespectful!"

Tsuna shook his head. "I am not a candidate for Decimo, Gokudera-san. I'm just… Tsuna." He smiled weakly, hesitating. "I don't want a bodyguard, I want a friend. Please?"

Gokudera let out a pained whimpered, before conceding. "Alright… Tsuna-san…" he said, wincing as if in pain.

"Haha, does that mean Gokudera-san will be joining the Protect Tsuna at All Cost Club?"

Tsuna felt like banging his head against the wall. Takeshi's timing! "No!" Tsuna protested to his friend who appeared from around the corner.

To his horror, Gokudera actually looked like he was contemplating Takeshi's words. "Turf-top mentioned that club too. What is it exactly?"

Takeshi laughed brightly. "Tsuna gets into trouble like crazy. We can't take our eyes off of him for long. For the record, you're on our watchlist too."

Gokudera squawked. "Why am I on the watchlist?"

Laughing once more, Takeshi said, "Well, given that last stunt, we were pretty concerned about you too."

"What? Why?" Gokudera asked.

Tsuna smiled. "Because you're our friend, Gokudera-san."

"Yup!" Takeshi agreed.

Tsuna stopped mid-stepped as he noticed Gokudera had stopped walking. Turning back, he found the silveret looking stunned at their words.

"Really?" Gokudera asked.

For a brief moment, Tsuna saw his younger self overlapped on Gokudera. In many ways, Gokudera and him were very similar. He had trouble believing that he had friends too when Ayame and Kyoya first wandered into his life.

Reaching for Gokudera's hand, Tsuna gave it a warm squeeze. "Really, Gokudera-san."

Flushing red, Gokudera looked away and mumbled something.

"What?" Tsuna asked, unable to hear what Gokudera had said.

"I said, you can call me Hayato. Just Hayato, no need the honorific," Gokudera, Hayato, said.

Tsuna beamed and Takeshi swung his arm around Hayato's shoulder. "I'll call you Hayato too!"

"Baseball idiot! I didn't give you permission to call me by my first name. Only Tsuna-sama!" Hayato raged.

"Maa, maa. Don't be like that, Haya-kun," Takeshi teased.

Tsuna laughed. These two were never going to stop, were they? The laughter trailed off as Tsuna realized once again, he had not been paying attention and as such, they had ended up in front of the concrete bridge. Lips pressed together in a frown, Tsuna glanced over to Takeshi, who had grown solemn. The smile was gone and there was a haunted look in his eyes.

Grabbing Takeshi's hand, Tsuna gave it a squeeze. "Are you okay Takeshi?"

Snapping out of his trance, Takeshi stared at Tsuna, a fake smile plastered to his face. "I should be asking you that no?" Nevertheless the baseball player squeeze Tsuna's hand back in return.

Poor Hayato looked rather confused at the both of them. "Why aren't we moving?" he asked. He couldn't walk ahead with Tsuna's hand still clasped to his.

Tsuna tugged both of his friends, down and away from the concrete bridge. "We never take that bridge, Hayato. Even if it means leaving a little bit earlier to take a different route."

"Why not?" Hayato asked. "It's the shortest route to school."

Tsuna bit his lip, wincing. Takeshi paled next to him, casting his eyes to the ground. "Ask… Kyoko or Hana, Hayato. They'll… give you a brief summary of why. Tell them I said it was okay."

"O... okay," Hayato said, trailing off and looking lost.

Tsuna tugged along both of his friends; Hayato in his right hand, Takeshi in his left. One day, Tsuna would conquer that bridge, but today… today Tsuna was content to run away from it.

\---------------------------------------

**Growing Family**

Ienari looked up as the door to his hospital room slid open once more. His body ached from the torture Reborn put him through as usual. There were only so many times he could get hit on the head with a mallet or sprayed with cold or shocked. It would be amazing if Ienari would be able to leave the hospital within the original estimated time frame.

Oddly, no nurse or doctor ever came in to check despite all the noise Reborn's training must make.

Ienari smiled brightly at the sight of his mother walking into the room.

"Good evening Nari-kun," Nana greeted. "I brought dinner!"

His mother was a goddess and no one would ever be able to convince Ienari otherwise. That she took the time every day to bring him her home cooked food made Ienari love his mother even more.

"Thanks, Kaasan," Ienari said with a smile.

Nana smiled back, taking a seat at Ienari's bedside. "Ah," Nana said with a clap of her hands. "Before I forget to tell you, we have house guests! It looks like they'll be staying with us for a long time. A few of them are using your bedroom right now. But don't worry, once you're out of the hospital, we'll rearrange everything again."

Ienari blinked. House guests? Permanent house guests?

"They're some of Reborn-kun's friends!" Nana chirped. "They don't have anywhere else to go and I couldn't turn them out into the street." She paused, tilting her head to the side. "We do have some money saved up from your tousan. Perhaps it's time to renovate the house. We could extend into the yard and make a couple extra bedrooms."

Both dread and happiness filled Ienari. Dread because anyone who was friends with Reborn was bound to make his life more painful. Ienari shuddered at the thought of more spartan training. That poison cooking girl was insane! She was going to kill him one day! Happiness because he knew his mother always enjoyed a full house with people to take of.

After all, she must be lonely with Ienari in the hospital and just… Dame-Tsuna at home. Ienari's thoughts grew dark as his irritation flared. His stupid brother.

"Nari-kun?" Nana asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

Ienari forced his temper down and smiled at his mother. "It's nothing Kaasan."

He would be the one to protect her after all.

\---------------------------------------

**Seeker**

"Kyoya."

"If you're looking for the omnivore, she is at this address."

"Thank you."

\---------------------------------------

**Moonstorm**

Ayame unfolded the newspaper. She hadn't gotten a chance to read it yet.

_Kinga Corporation's New Charity Project!_

_Kinga Orphanage and School is scheduled to open one month from today. A rush project that is trying to complete under an impossible timeline, but if anyone can do it, it would be Kinga Corporation that pulls it off. When asked why they had suddenly decided to explore this field, the PR department said, "Far too many children are abandoned in this day and age and suffer from lack of support. If we cannot find a family for them, we seek to support them until they are able to support themselves."_

"That's very kind of them to do that."

Ayame lowered her newspaper to see the Storm Arcobaleno had joined her on her table. Her eyes narrowed. "How did you find me?" she asked. She had been avoiding both Arcobaleno. The two babies were far too smart.

Fon merely smiled. "Kyoya."

Damnit Kyoya!

Ayame folded her newspaper back up and tossed it to the side. Her peaceful evening was going to come to a screeching halt, she just knew it. She crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her chair back. "Alright, what do you want?" she demanded. Ayame was in no mood to play nice. She was tired, damnit. Fon was just as dangerous as Reborn and she didn't want to play their games.

"I just wanted to thank you," Fon said. "Reborn mentioned you were the reason why Kyoya and his friends knew about Yousei. If you hadn't told him about Yousei, we probably would have not found I-pin in time."

"... You welcome," Ayame said.

Silence fell as Ayame stared at Fon and Fon merely met her gaze and smiled back. Ayame was not fooled by that smile. Not one bit.

"You're not normal are you?" Fon said after a while.

"Define normal," Ayame said.

"Well, you're not a civilian," Fon clarified.

He was fishing, trying to see if she had any connection to the mafia. "If by civilian you mean someone without connection to the mafia, then you are wrong. I am a civilian. I'm not connected to the mafia in any form," Ayame said.

"But you are an information broker, no?"

Ayame scoffed. "That would imply that my information is for sale. No. It's not. My information is for Tsuna and his friends, no one else."

"Then why gather the information?" Fon asked, curious.

"Someone once told me, 'Expect the unexpected. Prepare for anything and everything and assume the worst is going to happen, then you will never be caught off guard.' So I do that to protect Tsuna," Ayame said. "It's hard to protect someone when you don't have all the possible players on the table. You need to know what threats you need to take out."

"Like Vongola," Fon said.

"Vongola isn't a threat," Ayame said. She froze, realizing what exactly she had just let slip. Staring down at Fon who was looking rather smug looking, the Storm Arcobaleno clearly heard the weight behind those words.

'Shit.' "You're a dangerous one," Ayame said, eyes narrowed. That was a mistake to let that slip. While it was true, ultimately Vongola was not a threat, not to Ayame and certainly not to Tsuna. That didn't mean she wanted Vongola's attention. Especially because Plan A was not an option in Tsuna's book. Nor was Plan B. Plan C would only work if they continued to fly under Vongola's radar, and she just told the Storm Arcobaleno that Vongola wasn't a threat. Tsuna was going to be so upset if Plan C failed. Plan C was a peaceful solution! Stupid Ayame!

"It's the strongest mafia famiglia in the world," Fon said lightly. "Over ten thousand members strong and that is just the main famiglia. That doesn't count their allies or the separate branches within Vongola. How can they not be a threat?"

"I'm not answering that," Ayame said. She should have stood up and left the minute Fon had shown up.

"I'm not a threat, Ayame-san," Fon said.

"That doesn't mean I trust you," Ayame shot back.

"But I'm not allied with Vongola," Fon pointed out.

"No, you're just under the Chinese Triad's slave contract," Ayame hissed. Her golden eyes widened in shock. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 'Please tell me I didn't just let that slip out too,' she thought miserably, burying her face in her hands. "I didn't say that," she said firmly.

Fon stared at her, paled. "How do you know about that?" he asked, voice so low she barely heard him.

"I didn't say that," Ayame repeated. This was why she was avoiding both Fon and Reborn. She was too exhausted to keep track of her tongue. Not to mention both assassin and hitman kept setting off her danger alarms in her head and it was all Ayame could do to keep from attacking them before they could hurt her. It didn't matter that she knew logically, fundamentally that Reborn would never hurt Tsuna, that Fon loved his nephew, that they weren't here to hurt anyone, they were dangerous and Tsuna and his friends were hers to protect.

She never meant to let that tidbit of information out, but she knew the reason why it did. It was a weakness, a sore spot to exploit in Fon.

The bloodlust in the air spiked. "How. Do. You. Know?" Fon bit out. The serene calm was gone; this was the raging storm.

"It doesn't matter," Ayame hissed. "He knows."

Fon paled even more, but his eyes grew sharper. "You told him?!"

The Triad Slave Contract was how the Triads kept their members in line. Every generation, one member of their family became a warrior, the other hostage. This guaranteed that would be no betrayal. Always in pairs. Fon and his sister were warrior and hostage, but his sister's, Kyoya's mother, her death at the hand of illness put Kyoya as the next hostage. Kyoya had no knowledge of that or at least that was what Fon assumed.

Ayame knew that Fon had found a way, had used the power as the Storm Arcobaleno to let his sister and Kyoya roam free in Namimori instead of being taken to the Chinese Triads' Hostage Camps. The hostages always lived freely and comfortably, but any attempts to rescue one would randomly kill twenty others, all in a chain reaction, thus no one dared. A truly gilded cage. Ayame also knew that I-pin would be the warrior to Kyoya's hostage should anything happen to Fon (or the reverse would happen because no one could deny that Kyoya was strong).

"He suspected, Kyoya had always suspected," Ayame answered tiredly. "I merely confirmed it for him."

The bloodlust drained away, leaving a tense but quiet atmosphere. "When?" Fon asked, looking dejected.

"Two years ago. But I don't think he really believed it until a year ago," Ayame answered truthfully. She let out a sigh. What a mess. Ayame rubbed her temple, feeling her head pound. Another wave of bone weary exhaustion settled in her and judging from the stress Fon was putting her under, she was probably going to end up in Takeshi's closet tonight just for peace of mind.

"Look, I'm sorry," Ayame said as sincerely as possible. "I didn't mean to let that slip. My tongue tends to run away from me when I'm tired. Kyoya would have confronted you on that on his own terms when he was ready."

A small smile appeared on Fon's face. "I am sorry for cornering you like this."

"Better you than Reborn," Ayame said truthfully. If the hitman had succeeded in cornering Ayame, blood probably would have been drawn. She hadn't quite worked out all of her issues with Reborn yet. Fon was safer on so many more levels; no direct connection to Vongola, no relationship with Ienari, and an obvious attachment to Kyoya.

"I do mean it though," Fon said. "I'm not a threat, not to you, not to Tsuna and definitely not to Kyoya."

"I know," Ayame said, squeezing her eyes shut. She was so exhausted. "I know. I know the same way I know that Reborn really isn't a threat to Tsuna either. I can trust you both not to hurt them. It is everything else I don't trust you both with."

"I can help," Fon offered.

Ayame gave a sardonic smile. "It's not something you can help with, but I do appreciate the offer. If you want to help, stay. Help Reborn unravel this town's mysteries if you like. Tsuna could use someone who is calm. Gokudera-kun could use a teacher for his untapped Storm Flames. Ienari could use some meditation techniques to curb that temper of his. Support Kyoya, despite the fact that he does not want nor particularly need it. I'm afraid I rely on Kyoya too often to protect Tsuna where I can't. Be there for I-pin because you and I both know you are the closest thing she has to a father. And when the time comes, make a choice."

Fon tilted his head. "What choice?"

"If you're still around, you'll see," Ayame said.

"I think I can manage that," Fon replied.

"Good."

That was about all Ayame could hope for at the moment.

\---------------------------------------

**Let's Talk**

The Sawada Household was quiet. The clock ticked slowly; two in the morning. A small, silent figure made its way out to the living room, taking care not to wake all of the guests.

The air in the living room was denser, thicker as if something or rather someone was present.

"Primo."

A burst of orange flames lit the room as Giotto materialized, shifting down to the lower plane. Rubbing his orange eyes, Giotto yawned. "Giotto please, Reborn. No one calls me Primo these days," the blond said.

"Giotto, then," Reborn said, looking amused. "Do you actually need to sleep?"

"It saves on energy," Giotto said, yawning once more. "What can I help you with at this awful hour in the morning?"

Reborn's expression grew serious, a sight that looked fairly comical in his pale pink polka dotted pajamas. He had been waiting for Giotto's return, hoping that maybe some of his questions would finally be answered. "Let's talk," Reborn said.

Giotto tilted his head, indicated for Reborn to continue.

Reborn took a deep breath and asked the one question he needed to find the answer to.

"Do you know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna?"

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Dangles bait for Reborn-
> 
> So this chapter is not only 1.5k in words longer than usual, it also is a bit of a recap (Fon provided an excellent POV for that) and a closer look into Ienari and Ayame's heads. Ayame is eccentric and clearly an insomniac and Ienari got some pet the dog moments and he really does love Nana.
> 
> Since this was a recap, **if you're willing to indulge me, I would love to hear your theories and suspicions for the story so far?** Has anything stood out as suspicious like the crow in chapter 4? Why and what's your theory behind it? Take a shot and guess what happened between Ienari and Tsuna? I've gotten a couple so far (one was brilliant and it's a shame I can't use it because that would change my entire story. A few were almost spot on and stop reading my mind!) and I'm curious to see what else you guys have. I don't bite, I promise!
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> Momotaro  – Peach Boy. Popular Japanese folklore story. Tells the story of a young boy, born from a peach. He sets out to defeat a group of Oni (Orges). On his journey he meets a Dog, Monkey and Pheasant and with his friends, he defeats the Onis.  
> Arsène Lupin  – fictional gentleman thief created by French Writer Maurice Leblanc. Often known as a rival to Sherlock Holmes (though officially Conan Doyle never agreed to it). If you're familiar with animes like Lupin III and Magic Kaito, Arsène Lupin serves as inspiration/characters in them – Lupin III being his grandson and Kaitou KID being called a Modern Day Lupin.  
> "Merci de me l'avoir dit." – Thank you for telling me.  
> "Pas de quoi," – No problem


	9. Bridge Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Triggers:** We'll be discussing Suicide and Depression in this chapter.  
>  Thank you for sharing all your headcanons and theories with me! The reason why I asked was because, **welcome to Bridge Arc aka Reveal 1 Arc aka Character Growth/Interaction Arc.** The Daily Arc will continue concurrently (introduction of characters) but let's answer some of your questions in this arc. owo b

_Last Time_

_Giotto tilted his head, indicated for Reborn to continue._

_Reborn took a deep breath and asked the one question he needed to find the answer to._

_"Do you know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna?"_

_"Yes."_

 

**\---------------------------------------**

 

**Savior**

Yamamoto Takeshi met Sawada Tsunayoshi at age ten.

It was a cold and snowy day. A blanket of white snow covered Namimori, an untouched sense of purity. The dull yellow sun hung low in the sky, already ushering in the blue and blacks of the night. The streets were empty and solemnly silent. Brightly colored lights hung in the windows of many houses, creating a stained glass effect against the white snow.

Christmas had come and gone; New Years just a few days more to go. A feeling of good cheer and new beginnings hung in the air.

But not for Takeshi.

Instead of the warmth of family and friends that most felt at this time, Takeshi felt numb and cold.

This marked the first year he would be celebrating New Years without his mother.

It _hurt_. A sharp pain in his heart, an empty void that could not be filled. Takeshi had lost a piece of himself when his mother was taken from him swiftly and unexpectedly. There had been no warning, no way to prepare. Just the sharp screech of tires and splatter of blood.

Snow crunched under his steps as Takeshi wandered in a daze. He had been trying for these last months, trying so far for his father, trying to be happy, trying to _pretend_.

Takeshi was tired of pretending.

Before he knew it, he was standing on the ledge of the concrete bridge over the ravine. Takeshi stared down below where the river raged, rushing and undoubtedly glacial cold. Would it hurt if he took one more step? Would it be painless? Would it chase away this numbness, this emptiness? Would he be able to see his mother?

Just one more step.

A warm hand enclosed around his, stopping him. "Don't," a quiet voice pleaded.

Takeshi looked back to see a small brunet with brown eyes staring up at him. Sawada Tsunayoshi, or Dame-Tsuna as Takeshi had known him from school. Why was he here?

"Don't," Tsuna repeated in a firmer voice, eyes flashing orange. "This is not the way, Yamamoto-san. If you're sad, don't be afraid to show it. Don't smile that false smile, it's okay to cry. Just remember that you're never alone."

Those words were said with such conviction, such strength, Takeshi felt himself waver. He choked, feeling warm for the first time in months. Turning to step down, Takeshi slipped on the ice slick edge, falling. Panicking, he tried to let go of Tsuna's hand, determined not to bring the smaller boy down with him.

Tsuna, of course, held on tight.

"Let go," Takeshi said as he dangled over the ravine.

"No," Tsuna said. Tsuna held tight, but he was still smaller than Takeshi.

So they both fell.

Right into a net that sprung out from under the bridge.

"A net?" Takeshi said, bemused by the appearance of the net.

"That would be the second reason why you shouldn't jump," Tsuna said. His smile was twisted and sardonic. "They recently installed nets to prevent jumpers from committing suicide under every bridge in Namimori."

Takeshi stared at him, seeing Tsuna in a very different light. He stared at their entwined hands, feeling warm and safe, despite the fact that they still hung in a net over a very steep ravine.

Tsuna squeezed his hand. "You're not alone," he repeated, smiling brightly.

Tears prickled at the corner of Takeshi's eyes. "Thanks Tsuna," he said.

"Tsuna?!"

"Tsunayoshi!"

Takeshi looked up to see Hibari and a girl with brown hair and golden eyes peering over the edge of the bridge. Both were looking worried. (And wasn't that a strange sight to see Hibari of all people worried?)

"Hi Ayame-nee, Kyoya-sempai," Tsuna said meekly.

The girl, Ayame, groaned and slumped over the edge. "Thank Inari-sama that the nets worked. I think I just lost a few years of my life. Are you trying to give me a heart attack Tsuna?" she bemoaned.

"I will bite you to death for this, Tsunayoshi," Hibari hissed.

Takeshi couldn't help the laughter that bubbled to the surface. There was something strangely hilarious about all of this. It was just… Hibari was here, Tsuna was amazing and they were hanging over a ravine. It was stupid, it was dangerous, but for the first time in months, Takeshi didn't feel numb or cold at all.

Later, much later, after Takeshi and Tsuna were lifted safely from the net, after New Years and a long talk with his father, Takeshi would find himself spending January in France with Tsuna, Hibari, the Sasagawa siblings, Kurokawa and the older girl, Ayame. His father had closed the shop for the month, coming with him.

Takeshi laughed, grieved, cried and spent more time frowning than smiling. His father was there to support him and Tsuna and the others welcomed him into their group with open arms. He learned the French Alphabet (how was Tsuna practically fluent after just two months?) and enough French to carry a conversation.

A few days before they were scheduled to return to Namimori, Takeshi poked the elephant in the room.

As Tsuna and Takeshi sat by the fireplace, Takeshi asked, "Why were you here in France to begin with Tsuna?" He had noticed that the Sawada Twins had been pulled from classes for the last three months. He had assumed it was a family emergency, but here was Tsuna in France, playing and having fun and Ienari was nowhere in sight.

Tsuna stared into the fire, watching the embers fly. The orange flames reflecting in his brown eyes. Quietly, Tsuna said,

"Because three months ago, I tried to jump off that same bridge, Takeshi."

 

**\---------------------------------------**

 

**London Bridge Was Falling Down**

"Will you tell me?" Reborn asked.

Giotto sat down on the living room so that he was closer to Reborn's level. The soft orange eternal glow surrounding him dimly lit the room. "I figured you would eventually ask that. I'm really not the person you should be asking, but given those who know what happened better, well, yes, it isn't a surprise." Running a gloved hand through his blond hair, Giotto looked at Reborn. "I suppose Tsuna won't mind if I tell you," Giotto said. "Alright, as far as I know there are two major incidents between Ienari and Tsuna."

"Two?" Reborn asked.

Giotto nodded. "Yes. The Dying Will Bullet Incident would make three. I'm not sure if there are more, it has never come up. The first incident happened when Tsuna was eight, but I don't know much about it. I had asked once and Tsuna had a panic attack, Nana burst into tears and Ayame turned as pale as the moon. Never brought it up again, though eventually I got the general gist of what happened. If you want to know what happened, you're better off convincing Ayame to tell you since, well Tsuna can't speak of it and no one likes to upset Nana."

Reborn nodded. "Does that incident involved the bridge?"

"No," Giotto said, shaking his head. "The Bridge Incident is what happened when Tsuna was 10." He paused, contemplating his next words. "What's the difference between the resolve to survive and the resolve to live?" he abruptly asked.

Reborn blinked. At the surface, the two would be the same thing. There would be no difference. But Giotto wouldn't ask that if that was the case. "If there was a difference," Reborn said slowly, "It would be that surviving would imply that the situation you were in is potentially life threatening. You want to live regardless, but the situation you are in means there is a high chance of you dying. You would need to resolve to survive the situation in order to come out alive. To resolve to live would imply that you are dying, at death's door and making the conscious decision to not take that final step towards the light."

"Which resolve does Tsuna have?" Giotto asked patiently.

Reborn was about to say the resolve to survive for what else could it be? After all, Tsuna survived Ienari, survived bullies, survived this mad, mad, mad town. But was that really the case? He recalled the dark and tired look in Tsuna's brown eyes, that quiet resignation, and the inability to stand up for himself against Ienari despite being stronger.

A quiet terror filled Reborn as the implications and realizations hit him. His heart gave a tight squeeze. "Tsuna isn't suicidal, is he?" Reborn asked, horrified.

"Not anymore," Giotto said lightly. "He hasn't shown any tendencies since then. Tsuna is also better supported these days. Back when he was ten, the only people he had in his life were Nana who was at her wits end trying to keep her boys separated, Ayame who couldn't always be here, Kyoya who is not exactly the most friendliest of people and myself who happens to be a ghost and the limitations of energy keep me from remaining in Namimori all the time. Tsuna had just met the Sasagawa siblings and Hana and was only peripherally aware of Takeshi."

Reborn sat down on the floor in quiet shock. He would have never believed that Tsuna would have considered suicide at one point. 'Except that you did,' a voice hissed in his head. 'You had noticed that Tsuna kept going where lesser people would have given up and killed themselves. Is it really any surprise to learn that Tsuna had attempted to kill himself?'

The hitman didn't want to even consider what would have happened had Tsuna succeeded. Reborn would have come to Namimori and would have never met Tsuna? That was… that was an impossibility that Reborn didn't want to ever ponder. His heart ached at the mere thought.

"He tried to jump off the bridge?" Reborn asked.

"Yes," Giotto said quietly. "Perhaps it was our fault for not realizing, or just a case of bad timing. But shortly after Tsuna and Ienari's tenth birthday, both Ayame and I had to leave. I had used up all the energy I possessed -it was my first trip to Namimori- and had to return to the Spirit World to recharge. I'm not entirely sure where Ayame had to go, but she wasn't in Namimori according to Kyoya.

After his attempt, Tsuna stayed at Kyoya's house for two weeks in a fit of depression that none of us could snap him out of.

Out of desperation, Ayame took Tsuna to France, hoping the change of scenery would be enough to snap Tsuna out his depression. I couldn't follow; the limitations of where I can go in the real world is pretty much restrained to Namimori, a few other cities in Japan and Italy. But when Tsuna returned, it was with a smile on his face. Time away from Ienari seemed to have given him the peace he needed. It was the first time Nana brought up to Iemitsu the idea of sending Ienari to him, Iemitsu, of course, rejected the idea."

Reborn sat in shock. Out of curiosity, he had dug to see if he could find out why Tsuna had gone to France. He discovered that yes, Tsuna had gone to France, but Ienari had also departed for three months to an anger management camp. As far as the school was concerned, both Ienari and Tsuna went to that camp and Reborn was willing to bet that Ienari was under the assumption that Tsuna had remained in Namimori.

Both twins returned in January, according to reports, Ienari seemed to be calmer and Tsuna seemed to have remained unchanged. (But how much of that was people unwilling to see past Tsuna's smile?)

"What drove Tsuna to try and jump?" Reborn asked, desperate to make sense of this situation.

Giotto smiled sadly.

 

**\---------------------------------------**

 

**Break Point**

Tsuna's tenth birthday was arguably his favorite one.

With a beaming smile, Tsuna walked home, happy and without a care in the world.

A new orange and white hoodie from Hibari, a pair of black leather gloves and the promise of a new technique from Giotto, and lastly a gold ring from Ayame. So this was what it was like to celebrate a birthday with friends. Last year it was just Ayame, but this year it was Ayame, Hibari and Giotto. That was three. Tsuna felt giddy about the entire thing, continue to even days later.

Tsuna held the gold ring to the sky. It was a simple band that twisted at the ends into a pair of wings, one upright, the other upside down. For some reason the ring felt warm to the touch, something Tsuna often found himself smiling about. Warm was good; it reminded him of the hugs his mother would give him, the hair ruffles Ayame would do, the small smiles Hibari returned and the orange flames he and Giotto shared.

"Jewelry, that's so girly."

Tsuna flinched. Ienari stood before him on the concrete bridge. Inwardly, Tsuna despaired. Why did Ienari seek to hurt him?

"I like it," Tsuna said softly, proud that he didn't stutter over his words. "It's my gift, why does it matter to you?"

"Because it's stupid, you worthless freak," Ienari said with a sneer.

Tsuna winced once more and moved to go around Ienari. Home was close; he would be safe there where he could lock himself away from his twin.

Just as Tsuna passed Ienari, Ienari reached out and grabbed the white sleeve of Tsuna's new hoodie. "Give me that," Ienari said snarling.

Tsuna twisted away, struggling to get out of Ienari's grasp. "Let go Ienari!"

RIIIPPP

Tsuna stumbled as the sleeve that Ienari clung to, torn at its seams. Hibari's gift! The gold ring slipped out of his grasp, dropping to the ground with a 'ping'.

Ienari darted forward, reaching for the ring. As his hands encompassed around it, there was a bright spark and a crackle of energy. Yelping, Ienari threw the ring, over the ledge of the bridge and down into the ravine below.

"NO!" Tsuna cried out. He scrambled to his feet, peering over the edge to see the ring fall into the water below.

"This is what I mean!" Ienari cried out. His hands were blistered a bright red. "You're a freak! A monster! Don't you dare hurt Kaasan. I wished you would just die. Our lives would be so much better with you, you monster." He dashed away, running home to Nana who would bandage his hands.

Tsuna sank to the ground in a quiet shock.

It was unknown how long he had sat there. Long enough for the skies to turn a stormy gray, opening up for a torrent of rain. Long enough that Tsuna sat, wet and cold and so utterly and horribly despondent.

Thoughts warred and clashed in his head. Ienari's poisonous words rang in his head, repeating over and over again. _'I wished you would just die!'_ The pained realization that two of the three gifts he had just received were gone. The hoodie Hibari gave him was torn, the ring Ayame gave him was at the bottom of the ravine. 'Neesan told me to take special care about that ring and that was Hibari-sempai first gift to me!'

Tsuna stared down at his small hands, heart aching. Why, why, why? He knew he was strange and odd. Ienari couldn't see Giotto, so to him it probably looked like Tsuna was always talking to thin air. Tsuna knew he was slow, clumsy, and not very smart.

' _I wished you would just die!'_

What was that energy that burned Ienari? Was it really true? Was he a threat to his mother? His wonderful, loving mother? That energy was different from the warm orange flames that he could produce. Maybe Ienari was right. He was just a monster. What normal human could produce flames?

' _Just die!'_

A monster like him should die before he hurt anyone.

He climbed to the ledge of the bridge, staring down at the ravine below. Tsuna took one step forward.

And was immediately pulled back.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi what do you think you're doing?"

Tsuna looked to see Hibari snarling at him. He trembled, feeling overwhelmed. "Hibari-sempai," he weakly said.

"What are you doing?" Hibari repeated. His gray eyes flashed angrily; his black hair soaked and falling over his eyes.

"I… I…," Tsuna stammered. His body felt weak and he sank back to the ground in a daze, shivering as the rain continued to fall from the heavens. "Am I a monster?" he whispered. Streaks of tears pour down his face, mixing in with the cold rain drops.

"No," Hibari bluntly replied.

"But flames!" Tsuna said, "I can see ghosts! I just burnt Ienari's hands somehow!"

Hibari crouched down to Tsuna's eye level. A burst of purple flames sprang to life in his hands. "Am I a monster too?" he asked.

Tsuna stared at the purple flames, dancing strong in the rain. He reached out to touch them. They didn't burn, but felt soft and cool to the touch. "You figured out how to light them," Tsuna said in amazement.

Just a month ago, Tsuna had shown Hibari the orange flames that Giotto had been teaching him how to control. Hibari had been trying to access his own and when he failed at first, Tsuna had introduced him to Alaude, hoping the former Cloud Guardian would be able to help Hibari. Alaude had to expend the energy to shift down to a lower plane to interact with Hibari, but it was a welcomed challenge.

"I'm sorry," Tsuna said with a sniffle.

Hibari's eyebrow quirked upward in the silent question.

"Ienari ripped the hoodie you gave me and threw Neesan's gift over the bridge," Tsuna said.

"I can get you a new one," Hibari said, hauling Tsuna to his feet. "And I'm sure the omnivore will say the same thing. You, on the other hand, there is only one of you. Do not throw away your life so frivolously. Let's get you out of this rain before you get sick and I have to end up listening to the omnivore nag and fret over you."

Tsuna smiled weakly, but Ienari's words still echoed in his head.

' _I wished you would just die.'_

 

_\---------------------------------------_

 

**Higher Level**

"That's how the story goes," Giotto concluded. "Like I said, after that, Tsuna went to France, Kyoya, Ryohei, Kyoko and Hana followed. They returned for Christmas and New Years, picking up Takeshi and Tsuyoshi, heading back to France after New Years and returning once more at the end of January. Nana remained in Namimori, just to keep appearances up with Ienari who had no idea that Tsuna was in France and called every night."

Reborn sat, absorbing the information.

He thought about Ienari's response to who he would save between Nana and Tsuna.

" _Because Dame-Tsuna is nothing but_ _ **trouble**_ _."_

Trouble had felt wrong, like Ienari had meant a different word. A monster?

"Why does Ienari think Tsuna is some kind of monster?" Reborn asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't think anyone really does, except for Ienari himself," Giotto said. "That's the root of this problem, one that I think only Ienari could answer. But I get the feeling it isn't something Ienari can really put into words."

"So it is something that couldn't be easily be fixed if they just sat down to talk," Reborn said lightly.

"Most likely not," Giotto said. He looked away, lost in thought. "I believe Ayame has been seeking that answer for a while."

So there were things that Ayame didn't know either.

"But so far," Giotto continued. "Tsuna appears to be the only trigger. Ienari doesn't react that way to anyone else as far as we can tell."

"And the energy that burned Ienari?" Reborn asked. "That was Dying Will Flames?"

Giotto shook his head. "No. It is rather complicated to explain, but it's not Dying Will Flames... rather a higher level."

"There's a higher level?" Reborn asked, shocked.

"When you're dead, you have time to explore many things. Though I will admit most of this information I learned fairly recently," Giotto said. "The Flames of Sky and the Flames of Earth are some of the most basic levels. Because they're so simple, that is what allows humans to use them so easily and freely. Tsuna is one of the few rare people who appear to be able to access that higher level and his ability to see ghosts like me are an extension of well… dealing with me actually. Spirit particles blur the lines between the spirit and physical plane. At some point I didn't need to shift to a lower plane in order for Tsuna to see me."

"Flames of Earth?" Reborn had never heard of Earth Flames before.

Giotto nodded. "Cozarto had them."

… That was not in any of the history books that Vongola had. In fact, aside from a small footnote as one of Primo's many friends, there was very little mention of Cozarto at all.

Smiling softly, Giotto said, "Cozarto was the one who encouraged me to create Vongola as a vigilantly group."

History books are flawed after all.

Reborn sighed heavily; mutely processing the information Giotto had given him. So many questions. Reborn found answers, but now there were just more questions to those answers. What happened when Tsuna was eight? What caused Ienari to think Tsuna was a monster? (Tsuna, who as far as Ienari was concerned, was weak, useless and cowardly boy.) Even his rather stable and vast knowledge regarding Dying Will Flames had been reduced to dust.

Giotto yawned once more. "I think we should stop for the night," he said. "I just got back from the Spirit World and it would be a waste to use up what little energy I saved up to be consumed so quickly."

Speaking of which, Giotto had also given him confirmation that the Spirit World did exist and that little trip Reborn had taken over a week ago was not a dream.

"Thank you," Reborn said.

Giotto beamed. "You welcome. I hope that shed some light on the answers you seek."

It did. But it brought up so many more questions.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**Moondrop**

Ayame scowled at the offending piece of paper in front of her. This was a stupid piece of paper, with stupid words and what were these people thinking?! The urge to tear it into pieces reigned. Ayame took a deep breath and glared, hissing at the large stack of paperwork that sat before her. She had foolishly allowed it to build up and now her entire desk was covered again. Tsuna's request had kept her so busy that everything else had been pushed to the backburner. A costly mistake.

So focused on her work, she didn't notice the door to her office open and someone slipped into the room.

' _It's three in the morning. You should be asleep.'_

Ayame jumped, startled by the words that rang in her head. Leaping out of her chair, she swiveled around to see the seven tailed silver kitsune sitting in the moonbeam. The soft silvery glow surrounding it illuminated the room.

"Engetsu," Ayame said, relaxing. "Welcome back." Then a scowled appeared on her face. "Don't do that!"

' _I repeat. It's three in the morning. You should be asleep.'_

Ayame huffed, feeling the exasperation rolling off of Engetsu. "There's work that needs to be done!"

' _Leave it for when the sun has risen.'_ Engetsu's tails lashed out, twitching in irritation. _'Or give it to your assistant.'_

"I don't have an assistant," Ayame shot back. She sulked as she felt another pulse of irritation directed at her. Ayame didn't need to hear Engetsu's voice in her head to know the kitsune was angry.

' _If I could speak, I would give you such a tongue lashing.'_

Engetsu couldn't speak; her vocal cords having been damaged in a fight years ago. But Engetsu and Ayame had been friends for a long time and were close enough that Engetsu could project her thoughts into Ayame's head.

Before Ayame could protest, she felt gravity inverse around her and floated off the ground. "Engetsu! Put me down!"

The kitsune merely rolled her eyes and ignored Ayame's words. _'You do not have a choice in this matter. You are going to bed, even if I have to sit on you for you to sleep.'_

Ayame merely scowled.

Engetsu exhaled. _'I mean it. Your health is far more important.'_

Silence fell over the room.

' _Did the Storm Arcobaleno startle you that much?'_

"No! ... Yes," Ayame whispered softly. "I don't know," she moaned, holding her head.

Engetsu huffed. _'You are simply not use to being around others who are as dangerous as you are.'_

"They could ruin everything," Ayame complained.

' _Always the solitary hunter. Whatever caused you to join a pride of lions in the first place?'_

"Was tired of being lonely…"

' _Oh, Moondrop.'_

A tense silence slightly tainted with grief fell over the room once more. Still, floating in the air, Ayame approached the topic she had been staunchly avoiding. "Engetsu… Reborn is going…" she trailed off.

' _If that's fate, what can you do but sit and watch?'_

Ayame frowned at Engetsu's response. "But Tsuna!"

' _I'm fond of the boy too, but you know better then to fight it. That's one of the few things that will continue onward like the flow of time, the cycles of life and death and the balance of all things. Just pray for a positive outcome.'_

A strangled noise came from Ayame. She looked away, dejected.

Engetsu merely rolled her eyes once more. _'Now you've stalled long enough.'_ With a tug, Ayame floated closer to Engetsu, still suspended in the air.

"Mou, Engetsu. Fine you win, I'll sleep."

 

\---------------------------------------

 

**White Plate with Blue Moons**

Reborn woke up to a strange sight. It was no surprise that the first thing he felt was actually resignation instead of irritation. Clearly he was becoming conditioned to the strangeness that was Namimori.

Curled around Tsuna as if he was a teddy bear was Ayame. Reborn knew, knew she wasn't there when he had finished his conversation with Giotto early this morning. None of his traps had been set off or disarmed. How exactly had she gotten in the room?

He glanced at the clock. 8:12 am. Looked like everyone had slept in this morning. That was fine. There was no school today. That meant Ayame had snuck in the last five hours.

Reborn jumped on the ledge of Tsuna's bed, Leon already transformed into his mallet form. Ah well, that just meant Reborn had two unsuspecting targets. Just as he swung Leon, Tsuna's hand shot up to catch Leon.

"I really wished you stop waking me up this way, Reborn," Tsuna mumbled, still half asleep. He blinked blearily, trying to focus.

"I let you sleep in today, Tsuna," Reborn mocking replied. Leon transformed back, resting on Reborn's hat.

"We could all use some extra sleep," Tsuna said. That was when he noticed Ayame. "Oh Neesan came over last night. I'm surprised she didn't wake up and try to throw you out the window for trying to wake her up with Leon."

Reborn raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't question it. "Does she do this often?" he asked instead.

"Crash in my bed? Yes. Oh wow, she's still asleep. Neesan must be really exhausted," Tsuna said. He shook Ayame awake. "Hey Neesan. It's morning. If you want to continue sleeping you can, but you gotta let me go so I can get up."

A single golden eye cracked open and Ayame relinquished her hold. Tsuna rolled out of bed, scurrying off to the bathroom. After a few minutes, Ayame sat up, still sleep rumpled and stumbled out of Tsuna's bed and down the stairs.

Reborn followed her, curious. Ayame appeared to be ignoring his presence and she did look extremely exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes made her look like a panda and she moved sluggishly and in a daze.

She slumped into the chair at the kitchen table.

Nana turned around in surprise. "Ayame-chan! Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

Ayame made a noncommittal grunt and rested her head against the wooden surface.

Nana merely hummed and placed a plate of fish, a bowl of rice, another bowl of miso soup and a smaller dish with egg in front of her. A light thud followed by a cup of green tea.

Reborn jumped onto the table and stared at the dishes Nana had just laid out in front of Ayame: the entire set of white dishes with blue moons.

"You!" Reborn squawked. "The white plate with blue moons belong to you?"

Golden eyes cracked open, staring tiredly at Reborn. "Oh right," Ayame muttered. "You didn't know about that." She stared at Reborn for a little bit longer, before sitting upright to grab a pair of chopsticks. "You know what? I'm too tired to care that you know about this.

"How?!" Reborn started.

Ayame cut him off. "Not answering that. In fact, I'm going to finish eating and then I'm going back to bed to sleep, because this level of exhaustion is not funny anymore."

Reborn stared; his head already hurting from the knowledge this morning revealed to him.

Namimori… Goddamn Namimori.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how many of you went "I knew it!" and how many of you went "I need to go back and reread."? Also are you guys interested in learning a bit more about what happened in France? Would probably be a short interlude/flashback chapter if go that route. 
> 
> **General Notes**  
> [Tsuna's Ring](http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/130973787600-0-1/s-l1000.jpg) looks something like this (but gold)
> 
>  
> 
> _The kids learning French._
> 
>  
> 
> Kids are notoriously adept at picking up languages. I had one friend in high school who told me when she was young, she spent a summer in Japan and came back fluent. It didn't stick, but if consistently practiced and reinforced, I think it would have. Hence Tsuna practices, and thus Tsuna and most of his friends speak French.
> 
> _Bridge Incident_
> 
> -The bridge was introduced back in Chapter 5, again in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8  
> -Kyoya said in Chapter 1: Haven '(Ienari nearly succeeded more than once.)' This is one incident.  
> -Resolve to Live was first mentioned in Chapter 1: Five Plates and again in Chapter 7: Second Coming. Notably, it is only Reborn makes the distinction that Tsuna has the resolve to live. All other mentions of Tsuna and resolve don't mention what that resolve is. 
> 
> _Ayame and Moons_
> 
> -Many of you figured out that the white plate with blue moons belong to Ayame. Good job!  
> -Ayame has always been associated with moons. Her introduction in Chapter 2 was titled Moon and Tsuna and Ayame's first meeting in Chapter 1 ended with the line "That was how the Sky met his Moon." Secondly, many the names connected to Ayame are moon related.
> 
>  _Bilingual Bonus_  
>  -Jougennotsuki - (Ayame's hometown) Waxing Moon  
> -Eiki - (The mountain that Jougennotsuki is on, the name of the shrine were Tsuna enters of Spirit World) Phases of Moon (waxing and waning)  
> -Hisakata - (the street Ayame lives on) Moon  
> -Engetsu - (Ayame's kitsune friend) Crescent Moon


	10. Bridge Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Warning:** N/A  
>  **Important Info:** N/A  
>  Much thanks to those of you who helped motivate me and provided inspiration for this chapter. There were quite a few of you ;3; I cannot even begin to thank you enough.

**Cling**

Reborn was not clinging.

He did not cling; it was unbecoming of the World's Greatest Hitman.

If he decided to stay near Tsuna all day, that was simply because Tsuna was there. Bianchi, at Reborn's request, headed off to train Ienari. Fon left to talk to his nephew. Nana had taken the two kids out, leaving behind a quiet household. Ayame had taken Tsuna's lap and was completely knocked out, asleep.

Reborn claimed Tsuna's shoulder and the lazy Sunday morning started off quietly. He felt off balanced by what little he had learned within the last few hours. That Ayame was the owner of the white plate with blue moons aside, the entire incident with the twins and the bridge weighed heavy on Reborn's mind.

It was enough to shake Reborn up.

So maybe he wanted reassurance that Tsuna was there, was still alive, still breathing. For Tsuna to have come that close to dying, even if Reborn hadn't known who Tsuna was back then, settled uneasily in Reborn's gut.

"Are you alright, Reborn?" Tsuna asked, closing his book.

"Yes," Reborn answered. He paused, collecting his thoughts. "The white plate with blue moons was always Ayame's?"

Tsuna hummed in agreement. "Yeah. Moons are a big thing for Neesan."

"Your mother told me when I had first arrived that there were 9 occupants in this house. Four were Ienari, her, you and me. The last five were described as one that doesn't eat, three that can take care of themselves, and one who doesn't live with you always. Giotto is the one who doesn't eat. Which one is Ayame?" Reborn asked. This was a safe conversation, something to ease to. He wondered if Tsuna would give him a more direct answer instead of a half-answer that everyone else gave him.

Judging from the easy smile on Tsuna's face, he was going to receive a half-answer. One that answered the question, but didn't explain anything.

"Neesan would count as the one that doesn't always live with us," Tsuna said.

"And who are the three that can take care of themselves?"

"To describe them, I suppose, one is always watching, one is shiny, and the last one glows," Tsuna said, amused.

… What?! Reborn stared at Tsuna. "That doesn't tell me who they are," Reborn said.

"Technically, you've already met two of the three," Tsuna said with a grin.

When?!

As Reborn sat there reeling in the information, Tsuna's smile faltered slightly and turned grim.

"Papa mentioned he told you about the bridge last night," Tsuna said.

"Papa?" Reborn asked, blinking. He hadn't called Iemitsu at all. In fact, Reborn was now absolutely certain that Iemitsu had no idea what his family was like and for the last several years had been under a complete delusion of his ideal family.

"Giotto," Tsuna said. "I… Iemitsu has never really been Tousan as he's never been home. I mean on some level, he is still Tousan and I distantly care about him. But Giotto has always been there for me since we met. He is definitely more a father figure than Iemitsu will ever be. I started calling him Papa shortly after we came back from France. Not often, but yes, Giotto is Papa."

"Ah," Reborn acknowledged. The vindictive nature within him purred at that knowledge. If only that blond idiot could hear the words out of his 'cute-wibble-tuna-fish'.

"Yes," Reborn said. "Giotto told me about the Bridge Incident. Are you upset about that?" He had assumed Tsuna couldn't speak of the incident given his reaction when Reborn had asked after the Dying Will Bullet Incident. Technically speaking from a higher moral ground, Reborn really had no right in asking something he had no business knowing about.

"No," Tsuna said. "Hayato-kun asked the same thing."

Reborn noted the shift from family name to first name for Gokudera. It seemed the Smoking Bomb had made his choice and took the final step. Shame. Ienari lost a potential Storm Guardian without ever really meeting him.

"Tsuna…" Reborn started.

"I'm fine," Tsuna interrupted, sharper than he intended. "I am," he said in a quieter voice.

But Reborn saw the broken resolve in Tsuna's eyes. Now that he knew the reasoning behind it, it seemed frail.

Are you really living if you are still dying inside?

\---------------------------------------

**Spar**

"Surely you can do better than this, cousin," Hisen asked. Metal clashed against metal, ringing sharply. With practiced ease, she blocked the katana with her iron fan, slipping through Kensuke's defense.

With a swift thud, Kensuke found himself flipping to the ground; the sharp point of his cousin's iron fan pointed at his neck.

"Y-yield," Kensuke said.

Hisen let out a soft huff, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. "Really Kensuke. You're expecting to win the inter-middle school Kendo Championships?"

Kensuke scrambled to his feet; legs feeling like jelly from the workout he just got. "Not all of us are battle genius, Hisen."

"Keep saying that Kensuke."

\---------------------------------------

**Gentle Tranquility**

Across town in another dojo, Tsuyoshi watched with a careful eye as Takeshi sat in the center of the dojo, mediating. Across from Takeshi, Tsuyoshi could make out the hazy form of Ugetsu; it was becoming easier to see the first generation Rain Guardian with every passing day, a side effect, Tsuyoshi had been told, of his normal human body adjusting to the high density spirit particles that Ugetsu and the rest of the first generation outputted. Takeshi had been able to see Ugetsu without Ugetsu needing to shift down to a lower plane about a year and half ago; Tsuyoshi was finally adjusting to it.

Today, Ugetsu helped Takeshi spread the range of his Rain Flames. Judging from the way the entire dojo was coated in Rain Flames, Tsuyoshi could safely say it was a success. The sushi chef nodded in approval. Just as there were things that only Tsuyoshi could teach his son, there were things that only Ugetsu could teach Takeshi. Despite having Rain Flames as well, Tsuyoshi was well aware that Takeshi outstripped him in raw power over a year ago, easily matching up to the high levels that Ugetsu had.

If anything, Tsuyoshi was grateful that Ugetsu was around to help Takeshi learn control.

Tsuyoshi grinned as Ugetsu looked at him, gesturing with his head. That was permission for Tsuyoshi to start probing, trying to break Takeshi's concentration. It would do Takeshi no good if he couldn't maintain this range during a battle.

Flaring his own Rain Flames, Tsuyoshi went about disrupting Takeshi's flames.

Never opening his eyes, Takeshi smoothed out each disruptions.

Tsuyoshi hummed in approval of that. Then he flung the baseball he had specifically brought with him at Takeshi.

It hit Takeshi squarely on the forehead, shattering the dome of Rain Flames.

"Oyaji," Takeshi whined, rubbing his forehead.

"You're gonna have to learn to keep that up when the enemies are throwing their attacks at you," Tsuyoshi pointed out, mirthfully.

"He's correct," Ugetsu agreed. "But it was a good first attempt."

Tsuyoshi nodded in agreement. "Yes. Good job Takeshi. I'm proud of you."

The real smile Takeshi smiled made Tsuyoshi's heart swell even more in pride and love. His beautiful son was going to go so far in life.

Tsuyoshi was going to be grateful to Tsuna for the rest of his life.

**Food**

Kaori hummed to herself as she stood over the stove. Today she would make her fabulous chicken noodle soup and take it Ienari-sama! "He'll love it so much, he'll beg to go on a date with me," Kaori said with a gleeful cheer.

\---------------------------------------

**Politician**

"Hideki."

"Otousama," Hideki greeted his father.

"Your presence is requested at tonight's party," his father said.

Hideki smiled, but inwardly he gagged. Another party. Just because his father was a high ranking government official, he was expected to show up at the countless parties that his father was invited to, to help promote his father's family friendly image. It was dreadfully boring as his father tried to set him up with brainless girls who couldn't string together a coherent sentence let alone engage him into an intellectually stimulating conversation.

"Of course, father. I look forward to it," Hideki said, lying through his teeth. He pushed his red rimmed glasses up his nose. At least he would have more pawns to play with after tonight.

\---------------------------------------

**Protective Storm**

Tsuna wasn't really surprised when Hayato decided to show up and hugged him tightly. Naturally, he also didn't comment on the wetness he felt on his shoulder, choosing instead of calmly pat Hayato on the back. Tsuna had been expecting Hayato to show up eventually. No one ever came out of that particular conversation unscratched. There was little doubt in Tsuna's mind that Kyoko or Hana would be showing eventually as well.

The conversation regarding the Bridge Incident always upset everyone.

"I… you…" Hayato tried to form words.

Tsuna hummed in understanding. "I know."

\---------------------------------------

**Brewing Clouds**

Fon sat in front of his nephew. Not a single word passed between them, just a heavy, but not uncomfortable silence. Heavy thoughts weighed on Fon's mind; the new knowledge he had received was illuminating.

"You know," Fon said quietly, breaking the silence.

Kyoya, of course, knew exactly what he was speaking of. "You should have told me," he snapped. "None of this testing your worth and matching ideals with the Triads." Anger ran rampant under his words, the tension in his shoulders and a snarl on his lips.

"How," Fon asked, curious to know.

"Okaasama said, implied, with not so many words," Kyoya's bristle response.

Of course. Kyoya was nothing but a genius. That sharp mind, inherited from both his parents was as dangerous as the fighting skills they had taught him.

"Yun was always a free spirit," Fon said quietly. "She never liked to be tied down, always seeking adventures when we were children. To learn that she was going to be trapped in the Triad Slave Camp was… crushing. She tried to run away several times once we had discovered that, eventually our mother agreed to take her place.

Whether it was out of shame or quiet relief or even both, Yun moved to Japan where she met your father. I didn't see or hear from her until the day she got married. That would later prove to be a mistake.

Two months after your parents got married, our mother died; one of the random killings because someone tried to break into the Slave Camp again. The Triad came after Yun. By then, I was already cursed, the weight of being the Storm Arcobaleno in combination with the Hibari name, allowed her to retain some of her freedom. They merely choose to chain her down instead of trapping her in a gilded cage."

"The tracker," Kyoya said in understanding.

Fon nodded tiredly. The tracker was a thick metal bracelet. It not only let reported back the location of the hostage, but also contained the bomb within it. Tampering with the bracelet would set off the bomb and of course, the random trigger whenever someone attempted to rescue the hostage.

That tracker made Yun fearful of holding her own child. She never knew when it could potentially go off and that kept her distance so that Kyoya wouldn't get hurt in case the bomb did trigger. Thankfully, it seemed Kyoya seemed to take after his father; Hibaris were natural loners and while they appreciate occasional affection, most of them were more comfortable with a distant type of love and care than a more direct physical connection.

Still, Fon knew how much it hurt Yun that she couldn't freely hold her son. He suspected the illness that she finally succumbed to was made worse by the fear ebbing away at her mind.

Staring at the silver bracelet around Kyoya's wrist, Fon felt his heart clenched painfully. "I am sorry," Fon apologized. "After Yun's death, they moved on to you."

"I-pin takes your place should anything happen to you?" Kyoya asked.

"Yes, though I had hoped by the time I would have figured out how to safely disable the tracker," Fon said. "I've been trying to get a non-activated one that I could take to Verde to analyze. I've seen first hand when people attempt to disarm live ones. There's a dead man switch somewhere that even attempting to open up the tracker will trigger the bomb. Not to mention they appear to be getting smaller." Fon gestured to the silver bracelet around Kyoya's wrist.

Kyoya lifted his wrist; the silver bracelet gleaming in the light. Then he scoffed, "You misunderstand." He unlatched the bracelet, letting it dangle in his hand. "This was a gift from the Omnivore and Baby Omnivore. While I'm fairly certain there is a GPS tracker in here because the Omnivore's paranoia levels are off the charts, this is not the Triad's tracker. In fact, the Triad has not chained me in any way."

Fon gaped. "What?" he asked, stunned. "Impossible, I've seen the tracker reports." Fon had seen the active GPS tracker dot in Namimori, a casual reminder that Triad often sent him that they were still watching. Kyoya may walk free, but they held his life in their hands.

"You have the Omnivore to thank for that," Kyoya said. He flipped one of the tatami mats over, revealing a trapdoor in the ground. Pulling it open, Kyoya pointed down into the black metal safe in the underground room. "The Triad tracker is in that safe along with a computer that randomly generates a route through Namimori. Majority of the bomb has been disarmed, leaving only enough that if it ever trips, it'll explode to destroy the tracker and send back a confirmation but won't hurt anyone. Placing it in this room was extra precaution."

"How?" Fon asked.

"There is a reason why Otousama was comfortable enough to leave me alone after Okaasama's death," Kyoya said plainly. "The Omnivore and Otousama know each other, though they refuse to comment on how." Kyoya's eyes narrowed at that, disliking that information was being kept from him. "And apparently, ever since she arrived, the Omnivore has been doing control crowd, which meant stopping all the Triad's attempts to chain me down. I caught her two years ago, demanding answers to the suspicions I had, but no one in my family would confirm for me." The last sentence was accusatory.

Fon owned Ayame more than he imagined. "She did all of that?"

Kyoya scoffed once more. "The Omnivore has more fingers in pies than you can imagine. You and the baby are five years too late to be taking apart her plans."

"What exactly are her plans?" Fon asked.

A sadistic smirk stretched across Kyoya's face. "I think I will enjoy watching you try and figure that out."

He stood, signaling the closing the conversation. Just as Kyoya left, he threw over his shoulder, "Whether you stay here or at the Sawada Household, does not matter to me."

Fon stared, watching his nephew leave. A tiny hope unfurled in his chest at Kyoya's words. There was still a chance to mend his relationship with Kyoya. Kyoya wouldn't have offered that two years ago.

That alone gave Fon so much hope.

\---------------------------------------

**Best of Friends**

Hachirou let out a low whistle as the pink haired bombshell of a lady walked out of Ienari's hospital room, tossing her long hair over her shoulder.

"What did you do to get the attention of a babe like that?" Hachirou asked his best friend.

Ienari groaned, looking oddly singled and interesting shade of purple.

"Also why are you purple?" Hachirou asked.

"That crazy girl is one of the many tutors Reborn got me," Ienari snapped. "I'm purple because she's keeps trying to kill me while trying to teach me the finer points of table manners and while using the wrong fork can get you killed."

"Why is she trying to kill you?" Hachirou asked.

"Because she loves Reborn."

"But isn't Reborn a baby? You know you told me why you have a baby as a tutor or why you even needed a tutor to begin with."

Ienari groaned once more and buried his face into his pillow. "I cannot wait until I'm discharged. At least I'll be able to run away from her instead of being chained to this bed."

Being the good friend he was, Hachirou couldn't help but point out, "That's assuming all your fractures are healed by then."

"Damnit, Hachirou. Next time I will use you as a shield against her and you can see how you like it."

\---------------------------------------

**Renovation**

Nana hummed as she exited the Kinga Construction Office. The plans were set and soon her house would be expanded to accommodate the new guests that have been staying in the Sawada Household. It was best to do it now, before Ienari was discharged and the tensions were exploded at all time high.

Still with all the people in the household, perhaps now Nana could relax a little. It was hard keeping her boys apart with nice little plausible reasons. Her sons may not get along with each other, but she wanted to make sure she paid equal attention to them both and not isolate one or the other. Reborn's arrival made it immensely easier. New people meant more things that needed to be done or for people to keep one of her boys busy (whether it be Reborn training Ienari or Tsuna watching the kids who adore him).

Bending down to their eye level, Nana looked at I-pin and Lambo. "Why don't we go to the store and see if we can find matching dishes for everyone?"

"Okay!" Both children chimed up at her.

Nana smiled brightly. Things were looking bright.

\---------------------------------------

**Miura Haru**

Kyoko examined the cakes in the showcase carefully. Which one should she pick today? There were so many different flavors to choose from and they were all quite expensive. But that was to be expected considering she had ventured into the fancy German Bakery instead of heading over to Lucky Cat Cafe. Not that Cass' cakes weren't as good, but considering the stressful conversation she had with Hayato, Kyoko needed some extra indulgence today.

"Hmm the Black Forest Cake sounds good," Kyoko mumbled to herself.

"Hahi! The Black Forest Cake is the best this bakery has to offer!"

Kyoko turned to see a brown haired girl in a pink dress standing behind her. "You would recommend the Black Forest Cake?" she asked.

"As long as you like cherries and chocolate," the girl chirped. "It's delicious, all that rich chocolate!"

Chocolate was good. Chocolate would be great right now. "Alright, I'll get that then. I'm Sasagawa Kyoko," Kyoko said with a bow, introducing herself. "Thank you for the suggestion."

"I'm Miura Haru. Nice to meet you Sasagawa-chan," Haru beamed.

The infectious upbeat energy Haru protruded caused Kyoko to smile. "Nice to meet you Miura-chan. Please, called me Kyoko."

"Hahi! Kyoko-chan then!" Haru said. "Call me Haru!"

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

\---------------------------------------

**Books**

Hana sat at her kitchen table, a large pile of books sat in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as she absorbed the contents within. It was dense reading and far beyond her level at the moment, but it never hurt to get a head start on understanding. It would come in handy later. Instead, she took careful notes, absorbing what she could and would decode the rest later for her own understanding.

"Dear? Why on earth are you reading law books?" her mother asked.

"I want to become a lawyer," Hana said, simply. Vongola's appearance in Namimori, Ienari's position as Decimo, they had her mind spinning toward the future. Tsuna knew what he was going to do, and Ayame was already living her future.

She wanted to do what she could to help. Kyoya had a future in security management or even law enforcer or whatever Hibaris normally did. Takeshi was probably headed to the pro leagues for baseball. The aftermath of Yousei had left Ryohei considering a future in the medical field. The Sun Flames he emitted would help with that. That left her and Kyoko.

Hana paused; her heart ached a bit at the thought about what would happen when they graduated from high school. Would they head off to different universities, parting ways, never to see each other again, aside from a few stray emails, phone calls and school reunions?

Could she accept that?

_(Did she really want to go?)_

'Oh, don't be silly, like Tsuna is going to let any of us go and none of us will willingly leave his side,' Hana thought with a huff.

"But… isn't it a bit early to be starting on this? Do you even understand what the books are saying?"

"It's never too early," Hana said. "I don't understand everything but it never hurts to get familiarized with them."

Who else was going to keep her stupid monkey friends out of trouble?

\---------------------------------------

**Healer**

Shamal muttered over himself as he reviewed the information Reborn had so kindly gave him. The hitman had not been kidding when he said Namimori was a little weird. In fact, Shamal figured, Reborn had been understating exactly how weird Namimori actually was. Shamal had been a bystander since his first arrival, only seeing the changes peripherally. Outside of that first day, he had barely interacted with the Sawada Twins (a few times with Tsunayoshi; nothing with Ienari) and Hayato, while helpful in contributing information, had been done nothing but muddled the waters even more.

It led to a mostly unbiased view of things. Subtle tiny things. The amount of bullying Tsunayoshi was subjected to was, frankly, horrifying. Hayato had dragged the brunet into the nurse's office Shamal had taken over more than once. Tsuna would simply smile at the injuries he had, patiently waiting as Shamal, who would normally protest against treating men, bandaged them.

What kind of hell had Tsuna been through that he simply accepted that?

Shamal actually feared what things would look like once Sawada Ienari returned back to school. Adding gasoline to the fire? Hayato had implied as much.

Tossing the files Reborn sent onto his desk, he leaned back in his chair groaning. Why did he let Reborn talk him into coming to Namimori?

Right, because he owned Reborn a long list of favors that the hitman was finally cashing in on. He pulled out one more file; this one needed to be sent to Reborn when he had to chance. It had practically nothing of real importance in it, but it would add at least to the pile. Shortly upon her appearance to Namimori, Kumori Ayame was seen working in Namimori Hospital. The nurses and doctors remember her, and while they couldn't tell him much, it was enough for him to piece together that she had been working there for several months.

Of course, no one knew who she really was or where she had come from, but some reason or another, they let her do as she pleased and refused to say a word about it.

Odd.

A knock on the door of his tiny apartment drew his attention. Who would be visiting him now? Reborn always just let himself in, sneaking in and giving Shamal a heart attack at his constant mysterious appearances.

Shamal opened his door to find a white haired boy, Sasagawa Ryohei at his doorstep.

The boxer proceeded to bow a full 90 degrees and shouted, "Please teach me how to heal, Shamal-sensei!"

"Go to medical school," Shamal bluntly replied.

"I plan to," Ryohei said seriously.

Shamal had been posing at the school nurse long enough to know this was unusual behavior from the young teen. "So then why come to me?" he asked, curious.

Ryohei stood firm. He raised his fist; yellow Sun Flames flickering to life around his fist. "Because you're the only one in this town who knows methods to heal with Dying Will Flames." He bowed once more. "Please. I have received the basic instruction on healing with Sun Flames, but the human body is much more complicated."

Shamal stared. 'Well, I'll be damned,' Shamal thought. 'Reborn didn't mention an active Sun Flame User in Namimori.'

"All right," Shamal said. "Come on in. I'm warning you though I'm not an easy teacher."

Ryohei brightened at his words. "I EXTREMELY look forward to working with you!"

Shamal made a note to buy some earplugs as soon as possible.

\---------------------------------------

**Hit**

Ienari barely reacted as Koujin slipped into his hospital room. The younger boy had been visiting constantly lately and Ienari was bored enough to accept any company. Hachirou had left and thankfully so had the pink haired demon lady.

"Ugh," Koujin said, flopping into the white plastic chair. "When do you get out of here? I'm so bored."

"Do you miss me beating you up that much?" Ienari asked wryly.

"We're evenly matched and you know it," Koujin said. "No one else is willing to fight me. The rest of my family is out working; your little friends at school are boring though Iron Fan Girl is a feisty one. But she's like never around, always off to some a tea ceremony or flower arranging class. Boring. There's the bloody Skylark, but my parents told me to stay away from the Hibaris."

"You can always test your mettle against Dame-Tsuna," Ienari calmly remarked offhandedly. That would kill two birds with one stone: hurting his brother and getting rid of a whiny Koujin.

Koujin's eyebrow rose. "Do you want him dead or something?"

Ienari didn't say anything, neither confirming or denying Koujin's words.

Koujin's eyebrow rose even higher. "Why do you want him dead?"

"Dame-Tsuna is nothing but **trouble** ," Ienari said. If Koujin could get rid of him, then Ienari wasn't going to complain.

"You make it sound like he's a threat," Koujin said. "Well, whatever, if it'll kill some time, I'll do it. Free of charge too. Just know I wasn't kidding about being a ninja assassin. The next time you see your brother, he'll be in a coffin." He jumped onto the windowsill, ready to climb down.

"Koujin," Ienari warned. "You only get one chance. If you fail, you'll never get close enough to try again." Ienari should know that well. He still had the burnt scars on his hand.

The young assassin looked over his shoulder back at Ienari. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying I haven't physically been able to touch Dame-Tsuna since we were ten."

\---------------------------------------

**Start a Chain Reaction**

Tsuna opened the cupboard. "Hmm… we're out of panko," Tsuna said to himself. He glanced around the kitchen wondering if his mother had placed it in a different place than usual.

He paused his sweep of the kitchen to glance over to a sleeping Hayato and Ayame. Ayame hadn't even stirred as Tsuna had slipped away from being her pillow and Hayato had worn himself out emotionally shortly after arriving. Both were asleep on the couch, not even realizing it.

Tsuna had decided to start on dinner as Nana had yet to return. No doubt she was still out running errands with Lambo and I-pin. Tonkatsu Curry would be an easy enough of a meal, but they were out of panko to bread the pork.

"Do you see the panko anywhere, Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn shook his head. "None that I see," the hitman said.

Tsuna frowned. They couldn't have Tonkatsu without panko. "I'll make a quick run to the store then," Tsuna said, grabbed his wallet. "Keep an eye on the stove okay, Reborn?"

"Very well."

Twenty minutes later, Tsuna was walking down the street with a bag of panko in his hands. The next minute, he leapt backwards, narrowly dodging three metal kunais that buried themselves into the spot where he had just been.

"Not bad if you managed to dodge that."

Tsuna looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. His Hyper Intuition flared once more and Tsuna rolled to the side, evading the dark shadow dropped down.

Dark purple hair pulled back in a high short ponytail, sharp crimson eyes and black clothing to easily hide among the long shadows of sunset. A long black scarf wrapped around his neck, obscuring the bottom half of the person's face. Pouches tied to the arms and legs; the dying sunlight reflected off the sharp metal kunais in his hand.

Koujin Fuun.

Tsuna gaped; wondering why the youngest son and heir to the Koujin School of Ninjutsu would be after him.

'Actually… I think he's one of Ienari's friends,' Tsuna thought to himself with a start. Did Ienari send Koujin? That wasn't like Ienari at all. Manipulating bullies to come after Tsuna was more of Ienari's style, but to set Koujin, who from Ienari's point of view would be stronger than Tsuna, after Tsuna? A bitter feeling settled in Tsuna's stomach.

Where had Tsuna gone wrong?

There was no more time to ponder on that as Koujin leapt forward, charging straight at Tsuna. Tsuna jumped over him. The ring against his chest pulsed, but Tsuna pressed down the surge of energy building. He didn't want to hurt Koujin. Eventually the younger boy would get tired of this and would stop.

"Why are you doing this?" Tsuna asked, ducking under another volley of kunai.

"Boredom," Koujin said. "And someone wants you dead."

The warning from Hyper Intuition came too late as Tsuna felt a stinging pain across his stomach. He looked down to see a dark red stain starting to spread across his stomach. His blood felt warm and sticky.

A dark smirk spread across Koujin's face; blood dripping from the tanto he had just unsheathed. He arced the sword, letting Tsuna's blood spatter to the ground.

'That's right! The Koujin Family is also an assassin family,' Tsuna remembered.

"Do keep me entertained," Koujin said. "It's no fun if you just keep dodging." He blurred into the shadows, disappearing from Tsuna's sight.

'To the left!' Tsuna raised his arm to block, gritting his teeth as a kunai buried itself into his flesh. He wrenched it out of his arm, tossing it to the side. The pain was nothing new; no different than the many punches bullies often threw his way.

Tsuna spotted Koujin out of the corner of his eye, escaping another swing of the tanto sword. He sidestepped another kunai and ducked under a high kick.

"I told you. It's no fun if you just keep dodging," Koujin complained.

Tsuna stared at him warily. What was the point of fighting back? It was honestly less painful and things finished quickly if Tsuna had just let them hurt him the way they wanted to. They would get bored eventually. The only difference this time was Koujin actually wanted him dead.

There was a soft voice whispering in the back of his head, a voice that sounded so much like Ienari, a voice that Tsuna tried hard to ignore.

' _Aren't you tired of living? It would be so much easier to let things go...'_

Koujin charged; tanto raise high.

And Tsuna didn't move.

\---------------------------------------

**Conviction (Inspire Me To Live)**

Twenty minutes after Tsuna had left, Reborn had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling. His gut twisted and despair sank its claws into him. Warning bells rang in his head as his Flames cried in distress. Stopping only long enough to turn off the stove, Reborn flew out of the house.

Tsuna was in trouble.

Reborn arrived to a horrifying scene. Tsuna was _red_ ; covered in blood and injuries. The Koujin boy was charging straight at Reborn's Sky, a bloodied tanto raised, ready to cut down anyone in its path.

And Tsuna didn't _**move**_.

Without any hesitation Reborn fired. The first pierced Koujin's right hand, forcing him to drop the tanto blade. The second buried itself in the ninja's thigh, causing him to fall to the ground, howling in pain.

Reborn leveled his gun straight in between Koujin's eyes. Anger roared within him, heart pounding, teeth clenched that someone would dare, would dare to touch Reborn's Sky. " **Leave** ," Reborn hissed; his voice was dark and dangerous, razor sharp like a knife's edge.

Koujin limped away like a kicked animal, disappearing into the shadows.

Reborn took a deep breath, trying to gain a grasp of his rage. His grip was still tight around an equal red Leon. One more fortifying breath before Reborn turn to look at a silence Tsuna who stared at him with wide eyes.

Cataloguing Tsuna's injuries and determining the slash across Tsuna's stomach were the worse, Reborn started there, pushing his Sun Flames over the cut and trying to calm himself down. Leon transformed back, crawling over to Tsuna's shoulder to nuzzle his cheek.

When he felt he had a good enough grasp on his emotions, Reborn asked, "Why didn't you defend yourself, Tsuna?" That came out sharper than intended.

"I…"

Words failed Tsuna, but Reborn could read the reasons on the brunet's face plain as day. The frail resolve in Tsuna's eyes, shattered and tiny. Tsuna saw no value in his own life, saw no reason to fight back. This was the same boy who brought down an entire organ plant, the same boy who rushed off in defense of a friend, the same boy that accepted the abuse an entire town threw his way with a smile, defeated, broken and barely clinging onto dear life.

"You lack conviction," Reborn said firmly. The bridge, Tsuna's suicide attempt encumbered his mind. He had to make Tsuna _see_ ; Reborn would not accept anything less. "Your current resolve is weak. Abandon it and build a new one. There is value in your life, Tsuna. You have friends and family that love you, care for you, and protect you. To handle your life so carelessly, you disrespect their efforts to keep you safe."

By the slight widening of Tsuna's eyes, Reborn knew he was getting through to him. Reborn pressed on.

"Defend yourself! When you fight there should be no hesitation in your fists; commit every action with your Dying Will. Aim to win, for losing means accepting the potential lost of your life and the lives of your friends. If you want to protect them, you must also protect yourself."

Tsuna drew in a sharp breath.

Reborn softened his next words, but the weight still carried. "This is something you need to decide on Tsuna. I can you tell this all you want, repeat these words until the day I die, but unless you believe in them yourself, until you make that choice, until you decide what your resolve is, they are just empty words. What kind of person do you want to be?"

Briefly, Tsuna's eyes closed; his breath hitching in a short gasp. "I want to be strong enough to protect them," he whispered.

Reborn felt his heart squeezed. Tsuna's kindness. His gentleness. The strength that Reborn knew was there, buried so deep. The wide and ever accepting Sky. The way his friends leaned on him and the way he leaned back on them, supporting each other in every way needed. "I already think you are," he confessed. "The question is do you think so?"

Tsuna's eyes opened, reflecting that brilliant shade of orange within. A new resolve, forged in the simple faith and belief, burned brightly.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! Haru has been introduced, finally managed to bring Shamal back into the story, another look into everyone's lives and Tsuna is growing up. -wipes tears away-  
> FYI, I'm going on a trip, this will be the last update before I leave.  
>  **General Notes**  
>  Kyoya's silver bracelet first appears in Chapter 5: Rooftop  
> For the record, Reborn doesn't know that rest of Tsuna's friends have Dying Will Flames.


	11. Bridge Arc: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Important Info:** N/A  
>  I lied. Boredom in combination that I was more or less done packing resulted in finishing this chapter just before I left for my trip. (Normally it would have taken me another week to finish this chapter). So enjoy!

**Redefine What I Know**

Ayame miserably poured herself a cup of tea. The house was quiet; majority of itself occupants still asleep. She glanced over to the living room where Gokudera was still asleep on the couch. The boy never left after yesterday; something about the minute he had woken up from his nap, the bomber had fainted upon seeing his sister's face. It was already late, so Tsuna had tossed a blanket over him and let him sleep.

Speaking of Tsuna, there was something different about him. Ayame had been too exhausted to put a finger on it yesterday during dinner, but hours later in the early morning, she had noticed something had… changed. She shelved the thought for later.

It was too bloody early in the morning to be pondering on such thoughts.

Rubbing her eyes, she gave her tea cup a swirl, letting the brown liquid spin within the cup. She felt exhausted, but compared to yesterday though, this was definitely well rested. Honestly, Ayame always had issues with sleep, but over the last two months, it was getting increasingly difficult to get a good night's rest. "Probably juggling too many things in the air," she muttered to herself.

Reborn's arrival in Namimori had heralded a storm of chaos.

"They say it's dangerous to multitask."

Ayame looked down to see Fon standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

The Storm Arcobaleno jumped onto the counter and pulled out the new red cup with monkeys on it out of the cupboard. He then leapt over to the kitchen table, holding out the cup. Ayame compiled, pouring the tea into the cup.

"It is -" Ayame glanced over to the clock to confirm the time. "3:24 in the morning. Why are you up?"

"No particular reason," Fon said. "I should ask the same of you."

Ayame shrugged. "I slept all day yesterday. Is it really odd that I'm awake right now?"

Fon nodded in agreement. "No, I suppose not. Though it is rather worrisome that you slept for so long yesterday. You have not been getting enough sleep?"

"I never really do," Ayame causally admitted. "How did your conversation with Kyoya go?"

Fon shrugged, mirroring Ayame's earlier actions. "He hasn't chased me out of Namimori yet… but this is the most willing he's been in my presence since learning about my connection to the Triads." Fon paused, looking at Ayame with a wary expression. The atmosphere became tense and heavy. "And one day we need to sit and talk about how exactly you knew that information. I have not forgotten about that despites your attempts to divert my attention elsewhere." Then like dying storm, the tension cleared and the atmosphere lightened once more. "But I'm not so cruel to question you so early in the morning," Fon said.

Tilting her head in observation, Ayame examined the Storm Arcobaleno with a critical eye. "Fascinating," she mumbled.

"Hm?"

Ayame waved her hand dismissively. "There's a theory that I read somewhere about Dying Will Flames and personality traits. About how you can usually tell what type of Flame a person has, based on their personality. Suns are traditionally very happy or energetic, Clouds are often cold and aloof, Mists are natural liars and manipulators, Rains are easy going, Lightnings are eccentric, Storms are brash and hotheaded and Skies are arguably the friendliest. There are exceptions, of course. Just look at Reborn-san. While he has the ability to be happy or energetic, it very much contained and more along the lines of very controlled chaos."

Fon nodded in understanding. "You find it odd that I am not like other Storms then?"

Ayame scoffed. "No. I am well aware that you merely the eye of the storm. Calm in appearance, but still oh so very dangerous." Despite that acknowledgement, Fon was much easier to talk to, compared to Reborn. Probably because Fon wasn't so closely connected to Vongola, wasn't even that attached to Tsuna. Not like a certain baby hitman who was currently sleeping on Tsuna's chest upstairs.

"To be honest, I don't know that many Storms," Ayame said. Fon would make number five (or was it six) actually. "But yes, there was some merit in that explanation given the ones I do know do fit that description." She gestured to the sleeping Gokudera. "He hasn't awakened his flames yet, but I know they're there. Storm is his primary element, but he's got small waves of a few of the other ones."

Fon looked at her, curious. "What Flame type are you?"

A smile twisted on Ayame's face. Sensing Flames wasn't that hard of a skill to obtain, but it usually took time to gain mastery over it. Not to mention unlike other skills where you started small and worked your way up to big, the sensitivity worked in an opposite direction. That was, one would be able to sense the biggest, brightest and uncontrolled Flames first before being able to sense someone whose Flames wasn't even unlocked yet.

Locked flames, of course, were in reference to people like Gokudera, who had the potential to use Dying Will Flames, but haven't activated the ability yet. Hypothetically, they were no different from a normal civilian at this level. In Tsuna's case, he was suppressing his active Dying Will Flames, tying it down with precise control that Giotto had taught him. A person with good control over their Flames would be able to relatively suppress their Flames down to the same level as a person with locked Flames. This was why Reborn did not know about Tsuna's Flames upon arrival to Namimori.

Fon and Reborn, despite being years older than Ayame thanks to being cursed into an infant's body, neither had the ability sense Locked Flames. Both Reborn and Fon could only sense flames being actively used within a set range distance. In fact, if Ayame had to guess 1 out of 100 people would ever reach the level of sensing Locked Flames. She suspected Nono could or was at least probably very close.

There were, however, machines and tests that could determine a person's Dying Will Flames type. Vongola's finest technicians had discovered that a couple decades ago. It made for a captivating read once Ayame had stumbled on that information. The genetic component of Dying Will Flames and how types are usually passed down from family member to member. Very riveting. Ayame had found the analysis reports Reborn had requested of… practically everyone with Ienari's age group, no doubt trying to find suitable candidates for Guardians. It was from these tests and machines that the theory between Dying Will Flames and personality traits had come from.

"I don't have a Flame type," Ayame answered. She held up her hand, forestalling the confused questions Fon was about to ask.

The reason for Fon's confusion was simple. The ability to sense Flames was a passive ability that was gained upon unlocking and activating one's Flame for the first time. If she didn't have a Flame type, it stood to reason that Ayame did not have Dying Will Flames and thus did not have the ability to sense Flames. Indubitably, Ayame's ability to sense Locked Flames had to do more with her… ah sensitivity than having Dying Will Flames, but Fon didn't need to know that.

Thankfully, there was a nice logical explanation.

"I read Reborn's analysis report on the Dying Will Flames that everyone in Namimori has. No don't ask me how I got that information," Ayame said. She had already established that she could get her hands on hard-to-get information, might as well milk that idea for all it was worth. Plus it was the truth; she did read Reborn's analysis report. "Beside, the personality traits and meeting Bianchi-san gives you a pretty good idea what Flame type Gokudera-kun has. Flame types run in the family and while they aren't very strong, Bianchi has been confirmed to have Storm Flames."

"While they do tend to run in families, that does not guarantee Gokudera has Storm Flames. Yun and I were different Flame types," Fon said.

"The difference is your parents both had active Dying Will Flames," Ayame said. "In Gokudera-kun's case, only his father, whom he and Bianchi both share, has active Dying Will Flames, which are coincidentally Storm Flames. Actually, the last three paternal generations all had Storm Flames. On his mother's side, there wasn't anyone in the family who activated Dying Will Flames in the last three maternal generations, except for a distant great-great-cousin who had Sun flames. Given those odds, it would be stranger for Gokudera-kun to be born with anything but Storm Flames."

Fon complemplated. "That is a fairly accurate assessment then. You are right, he is the embodiment of a Storm: _Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests_ ," he quoted.

Ayame nodded. "Yes." Morbidly, she continued, "If I hadn't known Flame types ran in the family and that Ienari was obviously a Sky, I would have originally put down his aggressive behavior a mark for Storm Flames. Not that you could tell from what little Flames he actually has."

"Well, that's understandable since his Flames are sealed," Fon remarked.

Ayame snapped to attention. "... What do you mean Ienari's Flames are sealed?"

Fon blinked, surprised. "You didn't know?" he asked, incredulously.

That was not a good sign. Considering what she knew about Dying Will Flames and how they functioned, Ayame didn't like the implications that were beginning to form in her head. Frowning, Ayame said, "No. I was not aware you could even seal Dying Will Flames."

"I do not know the method myself," Fon said. "It does not happen often as far as I know."

"Any known side effects?" Ayame asked.

"Not to my knowledge. Why?"

"I'll answer that in a minute. Do you know who sealed Ienari's Flames and why?" Ayame asked, pressing for more information. This was important, one of the missing pieces to the puzzle she had been trying to figure out since arriving in Namimori.

Fon stared at her questioningly.

"Please," Ayame asked.

"I do not know much about it. Just whatever Reborn had seen fit to share," Fon said, slowly. "The extent of what I know was Nono sealed Ienari's flame as a child. They trickle out slowly, leaking from the seal, but are active Flames nevertheless. Most cases I have heard of sealing a person's Flames are those who seek to leave the Mafia and Omerta is involved, but few ever succeed in that. There were a couple cases of extremely dangerous criminals. Sealing a child's Flames are usually not done unless they are completely overwhelmed by them and unable to control it. Most people much rather teach the child how to control their flames. I suspect the only reason why was Ienari's Flames were sealed were because of his civilian status. Had the tragedy of Nono's heirs not happened, neither Tsunayoshi or Ienari would be up for candidacy and would have continued on with their lives undisruptive."

Ayame paled, burying her face into her hands. By Inari-sama! That was! As a child?! She had spent the last five years operating under the assumption that Ienari had absolutely no Flames. That the recent swing of leaking of active Flames had to do with the fact that Reborn had somehow either managed to coax out Dying Will Flames buried so deep that she couldn't feel them or some sort of transfer process, like a blood transfusion, that managed to jumpstart the capacity that was in the Sawada bloodline.

There was only one record she found of Nono traveling to Japan and that was when the twins were five. If that was truly the only time the twins had met Nono, that meant Ienari's Flames had been sealed since age five! Five! Based on what Fon had just said and the fact that she had combed through Vongola's extensive research of Dying Will Flames, no one knew the bloody consequences of sealing (SEALING) Dying Will Flames. In. A. Child.

Damnit. She was starting to actually pity Ienari. If this was truly the case, it explained so much. It didn't excuse his behavior, but it did explain it.

Five years of on and off studying of Dying Will Flames and she still didn't know enough. She need to do research. Someone… somewhere had to have looked into the consequences of sealing Dying Will Flames, if only to confirm her own suspicions. Dying Will Flames had been around long enough that someone must have.

"Are you alright?" Fon asked, breaking her thought process. He looked at her with concerned eyes.

No. "I need to go," Ayame said.

"It's four in the morning!" Fon said.

That didn't matter. She needed to go and find more information. Preferably now. Sealing a child's Flames. That was. There weren't any words! "I need to go," Ayame repeated. "Please tell Nana-san that I won't be needing breakfast and keep an eye on Tsuna please."

She didn't let Fon say another word as she stood up and left in the dark of night.

\---------------------------------------

**Fight or Flight**

Fight or Flight was the body's natural reaction to danger.

It should be noted that 9 out of 10 times, Tsuna would flee. This was not because he was a coward, but rather because he didn't like violence. It did not matter that he had the superior strength and could win if he fought. Naturally the one time where he would fight was if the enemy managed to threaten his friends. Beyond that, Tsuna had seen no point to fight, not even for himself. It was Reborn's words to him that brought forth a change, a shift in mindset. This change would bring forth a greater understanding of when to fight and when not to and when peace talks would go nowhere and when action was needed to get the point across.

Ienari was the opposite. 10 out of 10 times, Ienari would fight. One could admire the courage in that, or call him a fool. Whether he was weak or strong in comparison to the enemy, Ienari always tried to fight. It was this relentless aggression that led Ienari to gain his black belt by age twelve and promoted him to Captain of the Karate Club upon entering Namimori Middle. To be honest, it was unknown if the concept of 'retreat' existed in Ienari's head.

It could also be said that Tsuna's gentle heart and pacifist nature were what endured Giotto to Tsuna in the first place. And that despite Giotto having the ability to shift down to a lower plane to interact with Ienari and could have helped shaped Ienari into a better person, he choose not to. For when it was all said and done, Giotto was, once upon a time, human and thus capable of making mistakes.

Because, you see, Ienari's reckless aggression reminded Giotto of another person and Giotto couldn't bear to watch history repeat again. This decision would be one of many in the divide between the Sawada Twins, isolating them and twisting their fates even more.

\---------------------------------------

**Fuuta de la Stella**

Tsuna basked in the warm morning sun, leisurely walking to school. Ayame had vanished overnight, according to Fon. Hayato had gone ahead to grab his school bag from his apartment and Takeshi had yet to show up. That suited Tsuna just fine. As much as he appreciated his friends, the rare moment of peace was soothing.

Just as he turned the corner, a flaxen blond boy ran straight into him. He clung to a giant red book in one hand, the other grabbed Tsuna's shirt, knuckles turning white.

"Help me please!" The boy pleaded.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed as four large men in black suits appeared a few feet away. They loomed over them; the shortest was a good head taller than Tsuna. Gently, Tsuna shuffled the boy behind him, stepping forward to shield the smaller boy from view.

"Give us the Ranking Prince and no one gets hurt," a man with a scar over his nose demanded.

Tsuna bit back the growl. The Ranking Prince? The boy behind him was Fuuta de la Stella? He had decided he wasn't going to let these men have the boy; the knowledge that the boy was Fuuta de La Stella just solidified the decision.

Fuuta's name had come up in the long list of profiles that Ayame had accumulated about Italy's mafia notable players. From those profiles, Tsuna had only managed to remember half of the upper echelon of Vongola and CEDEF and practically no one else from the other numerous famiglias, but Fuuta's name had stood out. Despite having no direct connection to Vongola, it was Fuuta's profile that Ayame had paused in her explanation, letting something that looked too close to grief and despair over her face before softly saying, "So young to be burdened with that ability."

Yes, Tsuna was well aware of Fuuta's ability and the abuse he suffered from it.

"How about no," Tsuna said boldly. His Flames began to stir, growing warm, responding the desire _**to protect**_.

One of the man lunged forward. Tsuna dodged that, hitting the man with a right hook. The man crumpled like a sack of potatoes, falling to the ground. Jumping over the fallen body, Tsuna grabbed the outstretched hand of Goon Number 2 throwing him over his shoulder and to the ground with an Ippon Seoinage technique. He caught Goon Number 3's punch, twisting the thug's arm and drove his knee into the goon's unprotected stomach. Number 4 pulled out a knife, but in a flash, one of Tsuna's golden swords appeared, disarming the knife from his superior distance. It disappeared in another flash, as Tsuna lunged forward for a swift uppercut. All were down for the count.

Tsuna turned back to Fuuta. He smiled gently. "Are you okay?"

Fuuta hugged him. "Thank you so much!"

Tsuna patted him on the back. "No problem. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna."

Fuuta looked at him, surprised. "Not Sawada Ienari? The Vongola Decimo Candidate?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, that would be my identical twin. Are you looking for him?"

Fuuta opened his red book. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is ranked 1 out of 86,203 mafiosos to help someone in need. Ranked 1 out of 86,203 mafiosos who can never turn down a request."

Tsuna smiled at the rankings. That certainly sounded like him, but why on earth was it out of 86,203 mafiosos? Tsuna still had no intention of inheriting the Vongola Decimo position. That would go to Ienari, regardless of what happened. "I guess you're looking for protection, ne Fuuta?" Tsuna asked softly. He would too, if he had been chased after his entire life and caged like an animal like Fuuta had been.

Fuuta bit his lip, unsure. "Will you?" he asked, hesitating. "I don't want you to get hurt if you don't have the weight of Vongola to help you. I-I'll be okay." His voice wavered at the last sentence.

"It's fine," Tsuna said, ruffling Fuuta's hair. "I know someone who's just as good as Vongola when it comes to protection. We'll go see her later today, okay?" He offered his hand out to Fuuta.

Fuuta grasped it tightly. "Who is that?" he asked.

"Ayame-nee," Tsuna replied. "But for now, if you want, you can come with me to school and stay in the Disciplinary Office. Kyoya-sempai is also an excellent protector. Don't worry. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. We'll protect you."

Fuuta looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I mean it," Tsuna promised.

"Thank you," Fuuta said.

Tsuna smiled and the two headed off to Namimori Middle.

\---------------------------------------

**Wards**

When the wards to allow Giotto and his guardians passage into Namimori went up, another set of protective wards followed. While simple in nature, they were powerful enough to deter most would be assassins. There were two wards.

The first extended ten miles beyond Namimori's borders in all directions. The two nearest airports to Namimori were also included and eventually every airport in Italy and China. Its single rule: 'Turn back anyone with intent to hurt the Sawada Family and Hibari Family.' Intent to hurt was simply defined as anyone who 'physically wanted to harm'. Any assassin (and certain informants) with intent to harm those two families, immediately found themselves dazed and sick or under a set of extremely bad luck whether they tried to enter Namimori via car, bus, train, plane or walking. It prevented the majority of the attempts from both rival Famiglias and the Triads. The majority of these failed attempts were written off as everything as bad food to a cold, or coincidences due to everything from broken down cars to being arrested.

The second ward was within Namimori itself. It was possible to make it past the first one by focusing on a different type of intent. There were a couple assassins that followed Vongola's men in, curious to know why Vongola was occasionally checking up on a small Japanese town. Triad members often had no desire to harm their precious hostage, merely looking onto him. In the case of Fuuta, they had come after the Ranking Prince, but it would have been entirely possible that if they had succeeded, after they had obtained Fuuta, those men could have targeted the Sawada Family in order to gain leverage over Vongola.

Thus the second ward's rule was 'Anyone dangerous in Namimori'. Anyone 'stronger' than an 'average' person was immediately labeled as 'dangerous'. This was nothing, but a mark against the person, invisible to their eyes. However the information was sent to different people so that the intruders, if a threat, could be taken care of. Mainly as they were low level thugs, the Disciplinary Committee often received the information on them and took care of them quietly. Anyone related to the Triad was sent to Ayame and she handed that personally as per the agreement she had with Kyoya's father. It should also be noted that many spirits had come to call Namimori home over the years and sometimes they took matters into their own hands. Giotto had more than enough fun dealing with the few that came after Tsuna. Sometimes the wards took it upon itself to deal according with the (repeat) intruders, dumping them outside of the first ward, confused and memories modified.

These wards were, but one of the many safety precautions in place in Namimori. They were also something Vongola was blissfully unaware of it. Vongola was able to safely enter Namimori because they had no intent to harm the Sawada Family and even though they were dangerous, they were never confronted in fear of drawing Vongola's attention to this small town. Ultimately, the same could be said for both Fon and Reborn.

The same wards would be Fuuta's first line of protection.

\---------------------------------------

**Fire in Your Eyes**

"What needs to be done in order to get Fuuta the same level of protection as Kyoya and me?"

Ayame looked up from the stack of papers she had been reviewing. Work had eventually interfered with her research of Sealed Flames, causing her put it on the side for now. She blinked, soaking up the image before her.

Tsuna stood in front her, shoulders squared and spine rigid. His hands were clasped behind his back and an air of calmness radiating off him. More importantly were his eyes. There wasn't a hint of orange in them, nothing to show that this new confidence was a result of relying on Hyper Intuition as a support. They were clear, that soft shade of brown and they didn't waver, looking straight into Ayame's own golden ones.

Ayame could feel her jaw drop. What had happened yesterday? Tsuna wasn't like this the day before and since she had spent yesterday asleep, something must have had happened.

"Fuuta? As in Fuuta de la Stella? When did you meet him?" she asked, trying to regain her balance.

"This morning," Tsuna answered her. "He was being chased down by some men and I intervened. Sweet kid, Takeshi is currently taking him out for ice cream. I know he can be added to the wards, but is that only thing we can do?"

Her vertiginous thoughts still spinning, Ayame fumbled for the response to that. "The three options, outside of the wards would be first to spread the rumor that Fuuta is under the protection of the Vongola Decimo Candidate. While you haven't been acknowledged as one, no one can deny that you have the bloodline and the right as the eldest twin, so it's technically true. However, worded that way most people will assume Fuuta is under Ienari's protection. I don't like this one because I don't want Vongola's attention on you though.

"The second would be legal method. Have your mom legally adopt him. Won't stop them from trying to to kidnap him, but we then have the reason to arrest and lock up every idiot that tries. Or hand them over the Vindice. Legal adoption after all is just as if Fuuta was to join a normal famiglia."

Ayame took a deep breath, hesitating on the last option. "The last is… well you know what the last one is. You could do it, but it's kinda pointless at this time because it won't offer any protection from the people who are after Fuuta because they're unaware mindless sheep. Depending on how you look at it, it's more binding than any other cage Fuuta had been locked in before. Only this time there would be no escape for him."

Tsuna hummed in approval. "Okay. Let's do the wards and the first one then. I'll talk to Kaasan about the second one and we'll leave the third one alone for now. That would be Fuuta's choice in the end. What can I do to help with that? Oh, and after we finish this, can you update me on everything and I changed my mind, I do want to go with you."

"Want to go with me?" Ayame repeated, baffled at Tsuna's words. Tsuna was always surprising her, but never this drastically. "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this change of attitude on?"

Tsuna paused, thoughtful. "Yesterday… yesterday Reborn talked to me. He made me realize that you, everyone, does a lot for me and… I don't really do anything in return. Don't take care of myself as well as I should which in turn cause you to worry about me constantly; passively sitting back and letting you handle the majority of the work. Everyone worries about me and I guess I'm tired of letting things just happen and coping with them."

Resolve burned in his brown eyes, stronger than before; the resolve to protect himself, others, and his beliefs and desires. Tsuna continued, "I want to take an active part. I want to protect everyone I love, want to be strong enough for that. I cannot sit by and just let the world happen, I can change things for the better, but I need to **do**."

Ayame stared in quiet awe. She had never seen Tsuna like this. It was amazing. This was the person she knew he could be, the person she had tried to coax out, but always failed to. Her heart clenched painfully. She could never inspire people, not with words. That had been Asher's ability.

"Reborn-san really inspired you, huh?" she said softly.

Tsuna smiled brightly. "Yeah," he said. There was a gentle and fond look in his eyes.

Ayame closed her eyes, feeling her respect for the hitman raise a few more notches. Bitterly wistful, she thought, 'Well, always did know that Reborn was going to be the one raise Tsuna to new heights.'

"Alright, take a seat. We got a lot of work to get done."

\---------------------------------------

**Judgement**

Reborn sipped his espresso, feeling his irritation spike once more. He scowled darkly, remembering yesterday's events.

"Are you alright Reborn? You are looking… stressed." Fon joined his fellow Arcobaleno at the table, a cup of tea on hand. Lichi scrambled off of Fon's shoulder, greeting Leon, who sat on the table.

Reborn scowled even harder. "Yesterday the Koujin heir attacked Tsuna."

Fon choked on his tea. "What? Why?"

"Don't know," Reborn said sullenly. If Tsuna hadn't been in such a critical condition, if Reborn's Flames hadn't called out to him to comfort his Sky, the hitman would have interrogated the ninja boy for answers. "The only reason why he isn't dead is because he's the only candidate left in this town that could serve as Ienari's Cloud Guardian as nothing would convince your nephew to leave Tsuna's side."

Fon contemplated for a moment. "Would Ienari…?"

Reborn sneered. "Even if he did, what could I do other than put my student through hell for setting an assassin on -" ' _my sky'_ "-his twin brother? I, unfortunately, cannot kill Ienari for doing that, especially when Tsuna isn't my charge."

Something very close to pity reflected on Fon's face; Reborn ignored it.

"And there is no telling what Ienari would do is there?" Fon mused. "Could cause a rift between you and him, could cause him to seek other assassins, or maybe could even learn why attacking his family is a bad thing?"

"I highly doubt that," Reborn said. "Tsuna is his big red button. All of Ienari's reasons seem to go out the door when it comes to Tsuna. The best I could do was set your nephew on the Koujin's boy trail and let him dish out whatever he deemed fit as punishment."

Fon smiled. "Kyoya does have a way of sniffing out the truth. He gets that from his father."

Silence fell. Reborn felt his frustration flare once more as he took a calming breath. There were too many mysteries in this town. He didn't have enough information. Timoteo had yet to respond to his report either. Reborn prided himself on being several steps ahead than everyone else, but Namimori was forcing him to wait patiently to see how things played out. It was maddening.

"You might be interested in the conversation I had with Ayame this morning," Fon calmly remarked.

That peaked Reborn's curiosity. "Oh?"

"She claims not to have a Flame type and is very interested in the consequences of sealing a child's Flame. She didn't have any idea that Ienari's Flames had been sealed by Nono."

"At least that is proof that she doesn't know everything," Reborn said amused. "Why was she interested in knowing about Sealed Flames?"

Fon shrugged. "I didn't get any answer out of her, but considering she paled and disappeared into the dead of night after learning that, I say it was very important to her."

Reborn mentally reviewed his knowledge of Sealed Flames. It was oddly lacking. But perhaps he could use what little information he did know to gain information from Ayame. After all, she knew what happened between the twins at age eight.

Now it was just a matter of cornering her.

\---------------------------------------

**Report III**

Nono,

Poison Scorpion Bianchi has arrived in town to help further training for Ienari. Fine Arts, Poisons, Manners and Etiquette are being handled by her. She reports Ienari's training is progressing smoothly. I will begin soon meditation techniques to help Ienari unlock his Flames.

Have you given any thought to Tsunayoshi's candidacy yet?

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Report III Revised**

Nono,

Poison Scorpion Bianchi has arrived in town to help further training for Ienari. Fine Arts, Poisons, Manners and Etiquette are being handled by her. She reports Ienari's training is progressing smoothly. I will begin soon meditation techniques to help Ienari unlock his Flames. Another colleague has arrived in town to assist with that.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Thick with Tension**

Warily, Tsuna looked back and forth between Ayame and Reborn. He could hear the silent crackle of thunder between the two as they glared at each other impassively. This was bound to end in destruction; Tsuna just knew it. He had woken up this morning, came downstairs and arrived to this scene.

Tsuna cast his eyes upward, silently pleading with whoever would listen to him that this meeting would not end in blood. The air was already oppressive, so thick with tension that you could cut it with a knife. He was well aware that Ayame was not fond of Reborn (for whatever reasons) and that her secretive and odd nature annoyed Reborn.

"Go to school Tsuna," Ayame ordered. Her eyes never broke contact with Reborn's.

"Neesan," Tsuna said cautiously.

"Go. You are going to be late and Hibari doesn't accept tardiness," Reborn said.

Tsuna narrowed his eyes. "Kaasan will be very upset if you two destroy the house." He felt quite proud as he caught both minute flinches from the two of them. No one upset Nana. "I'm going to be upset if you two hurt each other, physically, mentally or emotionally." Another set of flinches. Tsuna was going to ruthlessly take advantage that both of them didn't like Tsuna upset either.

Satisfied that they had both been warned, Tsuna stood up. "Be nice," he added.

He prayed the house would still be standing by the time he returned this afternoon.

\---------------------------------------

**Compromise**

Once Tsuna had left, hearing the door slam shut, Ayame spoke. "Here's the deal. You tell me everything you know about Sealed Flames, when Ienari's Flames were sealed and why, and I'll tell you why this town is odd."

Reborn frowned. "I want to know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna at age eight."

"No. I don't trust you with that information yet," Ayame said. She didn't know what Reborn could do with that information. Perhaps use it as leverage to convince Vongola that Tsuna was the better Decimo Candidate? Over her dead body. Besides, Tsuna had expressed, in not so many words and not very confidently that he wanted to be the one to tell Reborn that. She would wait to see what would come from that decision first.

"I don't actually need the information you have," Ayame said brazenly. "All you would be doing is confirming without a doubt a theory that I have related to why this town is so messed up." In the end though, it would still be a theory, just one she was certain that was correct. There was no time, nor was she willing to risk people's lives to test the theory to confirm it as fact. Plus trying to replicate all the variables would be close to impossible.

Grinding his teeth, Reborn conceded. "Fine."

"Then we have a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuuta has made his appearance! \ o / Tsuna is taking an active step in his life now! Reborn is frustrated, Ayame just found out about Sealed Flames and next chapter you get to find out a whole bunch of information regarding the weirdness of Namimori.
> 
> Okay, so now that I'm about to board the plane, I can now say, this is my last update until I return from my trip. (Since somehow I managed to finish this chapter between my frantic packing and deadlines before my trip). I haven't been able to respond to reviews or PMs. Sorry! D: So I'll see you guys in a couple weeks!


	12. Bridge Arc: Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Important Info:** N/A

_Last Time_

_Compromise_

_Once Tsuna had left, hearing the door slam shut, Ayame spoke. "Here's the deal. You tell me everything you know about Sealed Flames, when Ienari's Flames were sealed and why, and I'll tell you why this town is odd."_

_Reborn frowned. "I want to know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna at age eight."_

_"No. I don't trust you with that information yet," Ayame said. She didn't know what Reborn could do with that information. Perhaps use it as leverage to convince Vongola that Tsuna was the better Decimo Candidate? Over her dead body. Besides, Tsuna had expressed, in not so many words and not very confidently that he wanted to be the one to tell Reborn that. She would wait to see what would come from that decision first._

_"I don't actually need the information you have," Ayame said brazenly. "All you would be doing is confirming without a doubt a theory that I have related to why this town is so messed up." In the end though, it would still be a theory, just one she was certain that was correct. There was no time, nor was she willing to risk people's lives to test the theory to confirm it as fact. Plus trying to replicate all the variables would be close to impossible._

_Grinding his teeth, Reborn conceded. "Fine."_

_"Then we have a deal."_

**\---------------------------------------**

**Secrets of Namimori**

Reborn glowered, furious. While he was curious to know why Namimori was strange, it was not the most important piece of information he wanted to know. Grinding his teeth, he conceded because at this stage any information was better than this half lost state he had been waddling in since his arrival. Ayame held the answers and he had to play her game if he wanted to know anything. Especially considering the fact that she just said she didn't need any information from him, only a confirmation.

"You first," Ayame said. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

"Why should I go first?" Reborn bit out.

Ayame scoffed. "Because the theory I'm trying to establish is reliant on the information you're about to confirm."

"And what promise do I have that you will actually tell me?" Reborn demanded. He knew she was slippery one. It would be exactly like Ayame to ask for information and then vanish, not fulfilling her side of the bargain. He had been surprised upon waking this morning that she had been waiting for him in the kitchen, especially given how she had spent the weeks since they met avoiding him.

"I swear on Tsuna's life," Ayame said, seriously.

Well, that was good enough. Tsuna was clearly important to both of them after all. It wasn't something she would so cautiously throw in the wind. "Fine. When the twins were five, Nono traveled to Japan to meet them. This was just a precaution, acknowledgement of more potential heirs at the time," Reborn said.

He took a deep breath, stamping down the anger he felt. "An incident happened and Ienari fell from a tree or from a relatively high height at his age. Nono wasn't quite sure. That was when Nono felt Ienari's Flames flicker to life. As all of Nono's sons were still alive at that time, Ienari being the youngest would have been the furthest from inheriting and Nono decided to seal Ienari's Flames so that both twins could continue on with their civilian lives.

"I will admit that my knowledge of Sealed Flames is fairly limited. There are not many cases and while I know more than the average Flame User, I do not make it my life's work to study Flames like Vongola's technicians and scientists do. At most, Nono has let me read whatever materials they had."

"The public library or the secret one?" Ayame asked.

Of course, she would know about that. Vongola had two libraries. A public one that the majority of the famiglia and allies were allowed to use. The basic information could be found here: everything as to what Dying Will Flames were, the different types and their characteristics, common knowledge.

The secret one was only for the inner upper echelon of the Vongola Family: the Boss, their guardians and their trusted staff, blood relatives/heirs, the CEDEF boss and their trusted staff, the Varia boss and their trusted staff, occasional trusted friends and scientists contributing to the information within. The secrets of Vongola could be found in the secret library, such as the knowledge of the Zero Point Breakthrough Technique. It was a testament of the trust between Nono and Reborn that Nono had let Reborn into the secret library despite the fact Reborn was only an allied freelancer and not even officially apart of Vongola.

"The secret one," Reborn admitted.

Ayame hummed in understanding. "Since I know you want to ask," Ayame said, "I will tell you that the only reason why I know about the existence of the secret library is because Giotto told me. He built it, after all. Nevertheless, I've combed through all of that and all the data that the current scientists and technicians Vongola has. I've even hacked into your friend Verde's database for information and none of Giotto and his Guardians have ever heard of sealing Flames before."

"So you want to know whatever I know that isn't from Vongola," Reborn clarified. One day he would need to figure out how exactly she was getting that information. What on earth did she mean by combed through all the information in the secret library? Everything in there was written on paper. Did that mean Ayame had snuck in Vongola, past their security and into the secret passage to the secret library without anyone knowing?

This girl was a walking security breach.

"No," Ayame said. "Just tell me everything you know and I will determine for myself if you're just repeating what I already know or if you have anything new to offer. I wouldn't mind any theories or observations you have seen either."

Reborn nodded curtly. "Very well. Cases of Sealed Flames are exceptionally rare. They are only done when, one, someone is trying to leave the mafia and Omerta is involved. But since mafia is for life, this rarely ever happens. Two, in cases of extremely dangerous criminals as part of their containment and punishment. Three, for health reasons. There are at least twenty cases within the last hundred years where a person had too much Flames and was literally burning from the inside out, unable to control them. But in that case, only a portion of their Flames was sealed so they could gain some balance of control. Once they had mastered that, the seal was lifted.

"Ienari was the only one I've heard of sealing his Flames as a child. As I said, this was primarily done by Nono to ensure his civilian status. Had Ienari's Flames fully manifested, there would have been no choice but to raise him as a Vongola Prince."

Privately, Reborn wondered if it would have been better that way. If Ienari's Sealed Flames were the cause of the rift between the twins, than it having them separated at a young age would have left Tsuna in peace and Ienari with hopefully more control. But there was no way to tell, not until Ayame told him what had happened between the two.

"With the exception of one Sun and one Lightning, all the cases have had a Sky Flame User sealing the Flames. This would suggest that it is an ability that only Sky Flame Users can do. Both the Sun and Lightning were health related cases, so it may be possible that because it was only a partial seal that they could perform it," Reborn continued.

He paused, collecting and reordering his thoughts. "It is only my theory that Sky Flame is needed due to their harmonization factor. They harmonized with the active flames, petrifying them and preventing them from being used further."

To his surprise, Ayame groaned and buried her head into her hands. "Of course," she mumbled. "That would make perfect sense."

Reborn's eyebrow quirked upward, but he didn't ask. Instead, he continued on with his explanation. "The theory behind sealing is as simple as injecting the other person with Flames, but Nono didn't explain it in detail and the process is not written down anywhere I had found.

"The seal could be removed by the person who placed the seal in the first place, or by reawakening the Sealed Flames, stimulating them once more. The Dying Will Bullets are an excellent method for this because they remove a person's limits, give an increase of strength and boost of power. The time restrictions of the Dying Will Bullets cause the seal with wear away little by little. The condition of mastering Hyper Dying Will Mode is known to be holding Dying Will Mode for five minutes. Essentially, the difference between removing a seal on a Seal Flame is no different than awakening a Locked Flame. Or at least that was the theory Nono and I came up with when planning out the training for Ienari. Normally Dying Will Bullets are a strengthening exercise to build up Flames, not reawaken them in Ienari's case."

"Any side effects for sealing a Flame?" Ayame asked.

Reborn shook his head. "None was ever recorded. Only partial seals were done for health reasons, so no observed side effects there. If the criminals exhibited any, no one cared and for those who left the mafia, there was no contact with them so also no observed side effects there either."

Ayame rubbed her forehead. The corner of her eyes crinkled in stressed. "So to summarize, out of the goodness of his heart, Nono sealed Ienari's Flames when Ienari was five. Sealing Flames are rarely done; the method is not known and there has been very little research done as evident by the fact that there are no known side effects, if there are any. The recent leaking of Flames from Ienari have to do with the fact that you fired one Dying Will Bullet at him. Correct?"

"Yes," Reborn said, suspicious. His eyes narrowed, frowning at her words. "You can sense the leaking Flames from Ienari? You told Fon that you didn't have a Flame Type."

Sensing Flames were a passive ability upon awakening Flames. If she was sensing the leaking Flames from Ienari, then she must be lying about not having a Flame Type. There was no instrument that could record leaking Flames (it was simply too small to register on any known recorder devices); only someone with enough sensitivity could feel that they were leaking in the first place.

Ayame scowled. "Both are true. I can sense Ineari's leaking Flames, but I do not have a Flame type. I am literally incapable of using Dying Will Flames. Do not ask. I hope I can trust you with that tidbit of information and that aside from maybe telling Fon, you and he will keep that between yourselves."

Reborn gave a curt nod, signaling his agreement. That was fine. Perhaps this would prove that he was trustworthy to learn what happened between the twins this way. Odd that she could sense Flames without having a Flame type, but it was not a game breaking ability to have.

Ayame took a fortifying breath. "One last question. Define for me what Dying Will Flames are. As you and the rest of the Mafia world understand them as."

Reborn looked at her oddly. What a strange request. Wouldn't that be the first question one would ask, not the last? "Dying Will Flames are described as a high-density form of energy that is refined from one's own life-force. Due to the way it resonates with one's emotions, it has been regarded as a type of battle aura. However, unlike the aura, which is a supernatural phenomenon that can only be seen by a few individuals, Dying Will Flames are in many ways more alike to a real flame, possessing even its own destructive properties," he explained.

"Life-force?" Ayame asked.

Reborn frowned, racking his brain. "I believe it's defined as Wave Energy which is the wave of life-force that flows through the human body." There was a bit more information on that; but Reborn hadn't been very interested in learning all of it at the time. It basically boiled down to a single sentence anyways.

"That's it?" Ayame asked in disbelief. "That's the extent of everyone's knowledge in regards to what Dying Will Flames are?"

Tugging his fedora down, Reborn said, "Essentially. We are mafiosos not scientists. Most of us at least. There isn't any concern beyond the basic understanding and how we can use it to our own advantage."

He watched as Ayame leaned back in her chair, laughing bitterly. Her tone petulant and sour, she said, "You know I was once warned to never get involved with the Mafia. I'm beginning to understand why."

Reborn's eyebrows furrow in displeasure. "Your turn," he sniped. He was beginning to grow frustrated with this conversation. Just give him the answers already!

Ayame stood and gestured toward the front door. "Come. It would be easier to show you if anything. I suspect you'll be able to tell the difference."

Reborn followed after her. They headed out of Namimori, far past the normal boundaries and into the forest. After what felt like an hour and Reborn's anger, frustration and irritation growing as they headed deeper into the greenery, Ayame came to a stop in the middle a small dirt clearing. Trees framed the edge, standing tall as the bright sun hung above.

Turning around, she looked down at Reborn and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Irritable," Reborn retorted sharply. His hands twitched towards Leon, wanting nothing more than to shoot the girl in front of him for what was beginning to feel like a wild goose chase.

Ayame merely shrugged and picked him up. Before Reborn could retaliate for manhandling him, she pivoted a full 180 degrees and set him back down. "How do you feel now?" she asked again.

The word irritable died in Reborn's mouth as he realized the majority of his anger and frustrations abated. It was still there, but it no longer bubbled under the surface of his skin. The urge to simply kill Ayame faded away. Oh, he was still frustrated with her, but the trigger happy feeling was gone.

Frowning, he walked back to where he had originally stood. The frustration and anger within him swelled once more and he retreated back to where Ayame had set him down. The hitman glared up at Ayame. "What is going on?" he demanded.

Ayame crouched down to his eye level. "I take it you've been feeling somewhat irritable lately? No surprise, you have been here for what… roughly two months now? And you're without a proper grounding method and at the heart of the issue too. In layman terms, all of Namimori is covered with a miasma of aggression. Side effects have included: an increase of anger, mounting frustrations over the smallest things, constantly feeling irritable, even the nicest people have been showing signs of violence."

"Exactly how did Namimori become covered in a miasma of aggression?" Reborn asked flatly, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Ayame looked away, back in the direction of the town. "I had been trying to figure out the source of the miasma since I arrived here," she explained. "Even though I checked every place, nothing ever turned up. I eventually ruled out a curse, an evil spirit, demons, the whole usual suspects. Despite ensuring that the aggression was frequently drained and cleared, it would always return."

Reborn felt a headache beginning to grow. Curses? Evil Spirits? Demons? Namimori was a supernatural hot spot it seemed.

"That was until Fon told me that Ienari's Flames were sealed."

Jolting his head upward in surprise, Reborn stared at Ayame, black eyes wide. "Ienari is the cause behind this?!"

Ayame chuckled bitterly. "Heh. No, as much as I would like to pin the blame on him, I'm afraid the fault lies at Nono's feet. Ienari is the source, but Nono sealing Ienari's Flames is the cause."

She picked up a thin branch and began to draw two straight lines in the dirt. "I've heard that you recently took a trip into the Spirit World."

Where exactly did she hear that? Well, then again, there were plenty of spirits that Reborn had met on his little trip. For all he knew, one of those spirits told Giotto and Giotto told Ayame. He wondered though, what was his trip into the Spirit World had anything to do with anything.

At the lower line, Ayame wrote Physical next to it and on the higher one she wrote Spirit. "Also I'm going to assume you don't know anything about dimensional planes," she continued, looking at Reborn for confirmation.

Reborn nodded. It was best to assume at this point that he didn't know anything and let Ayame explain it to him.

"Very well. Imagine the world exists as a series of planes. The lower plane is the plane we live on, the Physical Plane. The plane above is the Spirit Plane. This is why you cannot, normally, see the spirits and ghosts that live on that plane, like Giotto and his Guardians. The same way you cannot perceive certain wavelengths of light with your naked eye. For the record, the Spirit World is a pocket dimension connected to the Spirit Plane which is the why none of the locations you visited are the same as the Physical World. Entry into the Spirit World is often found where the Physical Plane and the Spiritual Plane intersect, notably where holy and sacred places are such as churches and shrines. There are multiple planes, but really they aren't that important to know at the moment. With me so far?" Ayame asked.

"I wasn't even near a shrine when I entered the Spirit World. I just went to bed," Reborn pointed out. He had wondered how he had gotten into the Spirit World in the first place and in his adult body no less.

"That's not the only method," Ayame explained. "Dreamwalking is another way. An out of body experience they call it."

Exasperated, Reborn bit back a groan. Honestly, why was Namimori so strange? Even with Dying Will Flames and being cursed into the form of a baby, none of that was beginning to even come close to what was happening to him now. "So what do planes have to with this miasma of aggression?" he asked.

"Well, now that you know about planes, let me explain to you where Dying Will Flames fit into this equation," Ayame said, drawing an outline of a person in the dirt. "You are mostly correct in that Dying Will Flames are a high density type of energy produced from one's life force. One's life force, or one's soul to be more accurate. A soul is spiritual in nature, your body is physical. As such you could say that Dying Will Flames are a type of spirit energy that your physical body channels, allowing said spiritual energy to manifest on the Physical Plane."

Ayame drew an aura around her person dirt drawing. "To be blunt, a person's soul is very small in the grand scheme of things. It is because it is small that is why people can use Dying Will Flames, because Dying Will Flames are very basic in design. They are the only type of spirit energy that, one, can be generated by a human soul and, two, their high density nature allows them to pierce between the planes. It was suspected once upon a time that this energy was created as a result to give those trapped on the Physical Plane a way to defend against those from the Spiritual Plane. Basically you can fight ghosts and demons with Dying Will Flames. Weak ones at least. Now I could continue to debate and theorized on Dying Will Flames for the rest of the day, but I think that covers the basics. Any questions?"

Reborn pondered her words. An early morning conversation floated to the front of his mind. "Giotto had mentioned that Tsuna had the ability for a higher level above Dying Will Flames. That would be another level of spirit energy?"

Amused, Ayame nodded. "Yes. That is correct. It is the same way Fuuta de la Stella's ability is also a different type of spiritual energy. I would not be surprised if somewhere in his family line someone mated with a spirit and Fuuta is a descendant. I am willing to bet several Mafia family lines also have the same situation. Families that have unexplainable abilities, similar but not Dying Will Flames."

Reborn blinked. That was fascinating to know. Ranking Fuuta had shown up yesterday afternoon with Tsuna and all Reborn managed to piece together was that Fuuta was now staying with them, but not exactly why Fuuta was here in the first place. The boy was rather attached to Tsuna though; there would be no convincing him to leave Tsuna's side for Ienari's, even if Ienari would be the one who could provide him protection. (Not that Reborn could blame him.)

Ayame continued, "After all, Dying Will Flames are, as I said, rather basic. They have the same appearance, just a variation of color and are limited in ability. Just because Rain Flames act like water, it is not true mastery over water, does not have the ability to draw moisture from the air, create tsunamis, or freeze into ice, only mimic the ability very closely. There is no Flame that can manipulate air, wind currents and create tornados like certain types of spirit energy can. The list goes on and on. Rather than be limited to the seven types of Flames of Sky or even the seven types of Flames of Earth, spirit energy is far more flexible in its use."

That… made a lot of sense. Reborn had wondered once or twice offhandedly, why there was no Flame that controlled wind. Wind was an element of the sky. Storm the closest in name, but didn't possess any ability like an air blade vacuum. … This was starting to sound like one of those manga that Tsuna liked.

Ayame spun the stick in her hand before wiping away the pictures she drew with her foot. "Before we move on, it should be noted that once you activate your Dying Will Flames, there is no turning back. It's like opening an air mattress, nearly impossible to get it back into the box you had opened it from. You can contain it, fold it, and the like, but it will never be as compact as it was in the box you originally got it in."

Reborn nodded in understanding. That made sense. Once you were 'aware', your world shifted, changing and it was impossible to go back to the way it was before. The same way a civilian became aware of the mafia; there was no going back to a normal life after that. (Or how Reborn had his taste of high class coffee beans and could never go back to buying the cheap instant brand anymore.)

Ayame drew the taijitu symbol in the dirt. "Now how familiar are you with the concept of yin and yang?"

"Light cannot exist without darkness, darkness cannot exist without light. Everything is in balance," Reborn answered.

"Good, good," Ayame said in approval. "Balance is an important thing. The human soul is always seeking balance, but its frail and small nature is why people are often so far off-balance. Yin is the shady side, Yang is the sunny side. Outside of light and darkness, many things can be classified as Yin and Yang. Some general aspects of Yin are Darkness, Moon, Feminine, Cold, Decreasing and Water. Some general aspects of Yang are Light, Sun, Masculine, Hot, Rising and Fire," Ayame explained. "If you had to guess, what classification would Dying Will Flames be?"

"Yang," Reborn answered. "Dying Will Flames closely resemble fire. They burn, get hot, are bright and rise with emotion."

"Correct," Ayame said, nodding. "Now what do you think would happen if you carelessly sealed those Flames, this yang aspect with no escape?"

It clicked for Reborn. "It would be like shaking a bottle of soda. The pressure from the carbonation would continue to build until it exploded."

A dark expression filtered across Ayame's face for a brief second. "Yes. Theory is rather complex, but in a nutshell an excess of Yang is often remarked with emotional changes such as anger, anxiety, agitation and restlessness. On top of that, Ienari's Flames were sealed as he was a child. So that means as he grew, his body tried to adjust for the imbalance, generating more Yang only for it to get trapped within the seal."

Reborn looked at her in horror. So Ienari's bouts of temper and irrationally were a result of his Flames being sealed as a child. Given Ienari's personality outside of his anger, it was evident that if Nono had never sealed Ienari's Flames, he would have been a well-adjusted normal individual. What was originally a kind hearted gesture from Nono, warped Ienari's personality.

"In the cases you had mentioned, this would not be an issue in the health related cases as it was only a partial seal. That means there was still a flow to the balance. But for the other two, it is entirely possible that this would be one of the many side effects. Perhaps a criminal who went mad, cursing the entire world as their rage built. Or someone who left found themselves listless and lifeless. The sealing of Flames could result in any combination of excess of yang or yin or a deficiency of yang or yin; each with its own consequences," Ayame said. "There is no way to completely confirm my theory, too many variables need to be replicated and I refuse to toy with people's lives to chart the results. However, the pieces do fit."

What a nightmare. "So Dying Will Flames are a form of spirit energy produced by the soul and can be classified as a yang type of spiritual energy. The soul is constantly seeking balance. Nono, while his intent was good, did more harm by sealing Ienari's Flames at age five. Because of the seal, the yang built up which in turn cause Ienari to be aggressive," Reborn summarized.

"That's it in a nutshell. Ienari is the source of this miasma. I suspect his excess yang has been trying to leak out over the years, despite the fact that his Flames have just started leaking," Ayame confirmed.

"Because of Sky Flames' property of harmony and the fact that Tsuna is Ienari's trigger button, this also explains the aggression this entire town has against Tsuna," Reborn theorized.

"It is what I suspect, yes," Ayame nodded.

Reborn felt his world rock at the information Ayame had provided him. The implications and realizations hitting him hard, slamming into him as if they were bricks. His thoughts were dizzy as if he had just been spun around until he was ready to vomit.

Ienari was no doubt subconsciously using his Sky Attraction, his harmonizing factor to sync with everyone in the town. Why hadn't Tsuna's own harmonizing factor canceled it out? Unless because Ienari woke his Flames first? Tsuna had to awaken his Flames after Ienari if Nono didn't seal Tsuna's Flames when he visited it. Nono was an excellent sensor of Flames.

Reborn gave a frustrated bark. He could admit (with a clearer head now that he away from that miasma of aggression) that he was out of his element. The knowledge he possessed was far too small to be able to deal with this.

A soft breeze swept through the clearing, rustling the leaves on the trees and kicking up the dirt. Ayame waited patiently for it to sink into Reborn's head.

"How has no one realized this?" Reborn demanded to know. He finally had a grip on his emotions and the turmoil of information had finally settled.

Ayame shrugged. "As you said, you people are mafiosos. You are large unaware of the bigger picture in relationship to the Spirit Plane. There are few people these days that could even explain it."

Reborn gazed at her, calculating. "You're one of those people," he stated. That was evident enough that she was able to explain the Spirit Plane to him.

"Are you even human?" he asked. There were just as many mysteries surrounding Ayame as there was Tsuna. Reborn did not understand how she was getting her information, unless it was some sort of ability like the Ranking Prince?

Ayame raised her eyebrow. "If I wasn't, do honestly think I would tell you? But, yes, I am human."

Reborn paused, turning over the words she had just said. There was something hidden in what was unspoken. Fuuta's ability. Ayame didn't have a Flame Type. Dying Will Flames were a form of Spirit Energy. "Just because you don't have a Flame type doesn't mean you don't have the ability to use spirit energy, correct?" Reborn asked.

A razor sharp grin appeared on Ayame's face. "That is correct. You are as smart as your reputation says. I do have the ability to use spirit energy, though I won't tell you what my abilities are. However, I was raised near a shrine, so you could say I'm a miko. These days though, I'm not really attached to a shrine. No time, unfortunately."

Reborn felt pleased. That was another tidbit of information he could use to discover who she really was. Even if she concealed her paper trail, people's memories would still be intact. He would just need to find a shrine that had a girl around Ayame's age growing up and with her unusual eye color it should narrow down the results enough.

He felt his frustrations and anger ebb away into nothingness. Today was proving to be a very good day. Speaking of anger…

"Ienari cannot help his temper can he?" Reborn asked, refocusing the conversation back to the original issue.

"No. He managed some control over it from that anger management camp, but I honestly think he got better at hiding it," Ayame said. She paused for the moment. "I've only told you the 'how' in this situation, not the 'why'. While this might be the cause for his behavior, it does not excuse his actions."

"And the driving factor behind his attacks on Tsuna?" Reborn asked sharply. True. This explained Ienari's temper, but did not explain why he tried to kill Tsuna. What the hell happened between the twins that no one wanted to speak of it?

"I only promised to tell you the how," Ayame replied back. "As for the why, that's a story for another day. Ienari's fixation on Tsuna is…" She trailed off, golden eyes distant.

Ayame let out a heavy sigh. "Teach Ienari how to use his Dying Will Flames," she said, changing the subject. "That should remove the seal, but there's really no telling whether that will help. His soul might fix the imbalance, setting within him or it may continue to generate excess Yang because that's all it knows how to do at this point. He may start suffering a Yin deficiency because his soul cannot keep up with the Yang it is generating. Like I said, too many variables to really know."

Reborn groaned and buried his face in his tiny hand. It didn't matter that it was completely out of character for him. This was a complete and total nightmare. Leon crawled down from his hat, nuzzling his owner with affection. Absolutely nothing could have prepared Reborn for this information. Worse of all, what was he supposed to do? Training Ienari with his Dying Will Flames may or may not solve the issue at hand.

"And Ienari is supposed to become Decimo," Reborn quietly hissed. His student seemingly normal personality aside, that uncontrollable aggression was going to be Vongola's downfall. Either another bloodthirsty reign that hadn't been seen since Secondo or in the destruction of Vongola itself. With no assurances that Ienari's aggression would fade, Reborn didn't like that option. At this rate, Nono might as well give Decimo position to Xanxus; at least his rage could be curbed!

"Ienari will become Decimo regardless of what happens," Ayame said in a plain, matter of fact voice. "Xanxus cannot for various, stupid, reasons that I'm not going to get my hands messy with at all."

Of course she would know about Xanxus. Reborn was getting really tired of her knowing so much. What did she mean stupid reasons? Xanxus tried to perform a coup against his own father. That kind of behavior made him an undesirable candidate and Ienari, who tried to kill his own brother, was a better option? That was trying to pick the lesser of two evils!

"Tsuna could always-," Reborn started.

"No," Ayame said, cutting him off. "Tsuna has stated he doesn't want to inherit the Decimo position. Unless he changes his mind, you will not, I repeat will not force that issue. I will fight you on this, Reborn-san." Her golden eyes flashed.

For someone who said they didn't have Dying Will Flames, it was quite easy to see the resolve in her eyes. Reborn mentally frowned, not at all cowed by her threat. Whether she knew it or not, he still intended to convince Nono to give Tsuna a chance. "Do you really think Tsuna will be safe if Ienari inherits Vongola?"

"Vongola is not a threat."

What did that mean?! How could Vongola not be a threat? It was the largest mafia family in the world. Just because they were located in a different country did not mean Tsuna would be safe from them. In fact, it would be like handing a serial killer a gun and letting them into a group of innocent bystanders.

"How exactly is Vongola not a threat?" Reborn asked. "Once Ienari becomes Decimo, do you understand how much manpower and firepower he will come into possession? Do you understand how easy it would be for him to send an assassin after Tsuna? Just yesterday the Koujin heir attacked Tsuna! Tsuna didn't defend himself; he would have let the ninja kill him!"

"I know," Ayame said quietly. "That's the reason for this conversation. You have my thanks for building that new resolve in Tsuna's eyes."

Then she took a deep breath and with steel in her voice, she said, "But that does not change the fact that Vongola is not a threat, not in the long run. I cannot do much now, not without drawing attention to Tsuna because Tsuna won't let me retaliate beyond what I have already done."

"What do you mean retaliate?" Reborn demanded. It didn't matter how much information she could obtain, Ayame was but one person. Even adding Tsuna's friends to the count, there was no way they could even stand a chance against a group the size of Vongola's Famiglia.

She stared down at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "If Ienari became Decimo tomorrow and you were free from your contract with Vongola, what do you intend to do, Reborn-san?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject again.

Reborn blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "I won't recklessly draw my own enemies to Tsuna," he hissed. "That means fading back into the shadows from which I came from." In the end, even if Tsuna was his Sky, Tsuna was still a civilian and Reborn was not going to taint him like that.

Ayame's expression was still unreadable, but Reborn swore something like disappointment had quickly flash in her eyes. "If that is your answer, then it is not the right time to tell you," she said. She stood up, straightening her black vest. "We should head back," Ayame said. "By the time we finish our little hike, school will be out and Tsuna will be returning home."

She started down the dirt path they had come up on, closing the conversation. Reborn stared at her back; thoughts churning in his head.

\---------------------------------------

**Italy**

Giotto lingered in the grand room that was once his office. His presence went unnoticed by the two other men in the room. Shortly after his conversation with Tsuna on Sunday morning, Giotto had felt his spirit being tugged and had found himself in Italy.

Wistfully, he glanced around the office, noting the pictures of each boss and their guardians. While he hated what Vongola had become, so far from his original ideal, there was a small part of him that was proud that his family had survived this long. Nine generations, soon to be ten.

"-Ienari is doing fine according to Reborn's reports. Perhaps it will soon be time to give him the Rings."

Giotto spun around, catching the tail end of that sentence. They were going to give Ienari the Vongola Rings?! Wasn't that a bit too soon?! Ienari was only 13!

"Isn't that a bit too soon Nono?"

Thank god Iemitsu had some drops of common sense. The man was a terrible father, but at least he did his part to protect his family.

"He should get used to wearing it and training with it. He won't become Decimo until later, but since Ienari is having trouble with his Flames, having the Vongola Sky Ring will be helpful. Perhaps next year. We will see from Reborn's reports."

Giotto frowned. That wasn't good news. He would need to pass that information onto Ayame when he returned to Namimori.

They were running out of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this was a dense info dump chapter. I hope it wasn't too confusing? But now you know why all of Namimori treats Tsuna poorly, the cause of Ienari's wrapped personality (but not his reasons!), why Sealed Flames are a bad idea, and how the Spirit World ties in with this entire story. This brings an end to the **Bridge Arc aka Reveal 1 Arc**. Up next is finishing Daily Life Arc Part 2.
> 
> **General Notes**
> 
> It has been remarked many times that Reborn is feeling frustrated in Namimori. The miasma of aggression has been influencing him since his arrival.
> 
> While Ayame drew her example of Dimensional Planes as straight lines, the more appropriate appearance would be jagged up and down spikes, hills and dips that overlap. (Or if it's easier to imagine, picture the physical plane is a sine wave and spiritual plane is a cosine wave). On the xyz axis, time travels along the x axis, parallel worlds along the y axis and dimensional planes along the z axis.
> 
> [Taijitu Symbol:](tinyurl.com/pyz64o3)
> 
> [Yin and Yang Basics:](tinyurl.com/qhnm2wn)
> 
> [Excess/Deficiency Yin and Yang:](tinyurl.com/ogq4gxr)  - Scroll down to Emotions
> 
> Interestingly, one of the Yang sources is the head and in the anime, Nono touches Tsuna's head to seal his flames.
> 
> I believe canon!Tsuna suffered a bit from having his flames sealed, especially at a young age. In this particular headcanon, I pictured if Tsuna was the one with Sealed Flames, he would be suffering a deficiency of yin (that is all his yin is eaten up by his sealed yang or his body isn't producing enough yin, matching the low yang production when it's just sealed yang) as some of the emotions from deficiency of yin is: No Motivation, Cannot Interact, Afraid, Low Self Esteem. Sounds like Tsuna at the beginning of canon right?


	13. Daily Life Arc 2: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Warnings:** N/A  
>  **Important Stuff:** Because people have mentioned in reviews it's hard to keep track of Ienari's Guardians, here's a small cheat sheet.  
>  **Small OC Cheat Sheet**  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club.  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.  
> All other OCs either don't play that big of a role (Hibari's parents, for example), are not needed outside of their arc (you can forget everyone from the Yousei Arc), or have not been introduced yet/spoilers. And… to be honest, Ienari's guardians don't play that big of a role, except for the fact that I kinda needed a full set for Ienari ahaha. (Well, no, I guess Fuun had a decent role attacking Tsuna). Take a guess which OC will be which guardian. I confirmed Hachirou this chapter and already told you who most likely be Ienari's Cloud Guardian.

**Time Skip**

And so, time began to pass. Summer vacation had begun and the weather grew hot and sticky. Kyoya ensured that Ienari was stuck in the hospital for another couple months and Fuun joined his Sky shortly after, similarly injured. Ayame kidnapped Tsuna the day his summer vacation started, forcing him to finish his summer homework well in advance. She took his knowledge, refined it and sharpened it, all while muttering about the stupid school boards and incompetent teachers. The rest of Tsuna's friends went through a similar process, though Kyoya, smugly got out of it by simply acing every academic test she threw at him and had his homework done before she had even arrived at his house.

Training continued as Reborn and Fon began to instruct Ienari on accessing his Flames. While Tsuna had a decent grasp on theories and was by no means a stupid person, ultimately he was quite average in his academics. Ienari on the other hand was a genius; his top grades were not just for show and thus two weeks after the start of summer vacation he was able to light the tiniest flickers of his Flame. They were weak and nowhere near as pure as Tsuna's, much to Reborn's satisfaction.

The renovation of the Sawada House was complete three weeks into summer vacation, gifting them with three new bedrooms and additional bathroom. With the number of guests and new permanent residents though, they still had to be shared, but it was enough. Bianchi strong armed Tsuna into moving into one of the newer rooms; anything to increase the distance between the twins and commandeered Tsuna's old room. Tsuna looked at her, well aware of she was trying to do and didn't put up much of a fight. Ayame, when she wasn't crashing on Tsuna's bed, was actually sharing that room with Bianchi, which made sense given the original guest room that Bianchi had been staying in was originally Ayame's room (though she rarely slept in it).

There were still questions that needed to be asked, mysteries to be solved, but things settled into a peaceful routine.

And the future continued to loom uncertain.

\---------------------------------------

**Tsuna-Nii**

Tsuna stared at the colorful toys that lined the shelves of Kinga Toys. He had brought Fuuta, Lambo and I-pin here; a treat for all hard work and good behavior they had displayed during the renovation. So one new toy for each of them.

"Tsuna-nii!"

Tsuna felt his heart skip a beat. He looked down to see Lambo holding up a cow stuffed animal, waving excitedly.

"This one Tsuna-nii," Lambo said. "I want this one!"

Tsuna felt his throat constrict. Tsuna-nii. Ienari hadn't called him Tsuna-nii in years. He hadn't even realized how much he had missed being addressed as someone's older brother. The pride reflected in Lambo's eyes made it even more painful.

"Tsuna-nii?" Lambo asked.

Tsuna just pulled him into a tight hug.

\---------------------------------------

**Lambo**

Lambo wasn't an idiot. Despite his selfish nature, he understood concepts far beyond what people would expect for his age. He knew, at least subconsciously, what his family had been trying to do when they sent him on a very one-sided suicide mission against Reborn. Lambo wasn't expected to return alive; he knew that. So he was determined to prove them wrong.

Japan… wasn't anything what Lambo expected. But in a good way. It was scary being taken by those bad guys that wanted to cut him up, but he found a new mama, an older brother he never had before and a whole big family. It was nice. It was warm here, safe.

It was home.

As Tsuna bent down to hug him in the toy store, Lambo sensed that was something wrong with the way Tsuna clung to him. Lambo hugged his big brother back, determined to give him the comfort Tsuna needed.

His Tsuna-nii was the best person in the world and Lambo was going to his best to protect him.

\---------------------------------------

**Right Hand**

"Ne, Hayato," Tsuna asked, nervous.

"Yes Tsuna-sama?" Hayato answered, giving Tsuna his full attention. He wondered what was bothering Tsuna.

They were at the mall, grabbing some ice cream on the hot summer day. The baseball idiot was in the bathroom, and the kids were sitting with Nana in another booth. The girls were off shopping, Turf-top got dragged with them and Skylark had patrol. Both Fon and Reborn had passed, heading off to run their own errands.

Tsuna bit his lip. "Why… why haven't you challenged Ienari yet? I mean he's been in the hospital, but you were for a while before he got put in there. I know Reborn originally called you here to join Ienari's family."

Hayato froze. He didn't know that Tsuna was aware of the original reason why he had come. Though considering the circumstances, it wasn't that big of a leap in logic to assume such thing. "I… It's true that was the reason why Reborn called me here, but I decided against it after meeting you."

Tsuna stared at him, eyes wide. "What? But…"

Hayato shook his head. "No. You came after me when Yousei took me. That's… no one has ever done that for me. Aneki might have, most likely actually, but you. You barely knew me, Tsuna-sama and yet you came after me. I always had to rely on myself. No one in the mafia wanted to take me in because I was a bastard child. You came because…," Hayato swallowed, dredging up his feelings. "You came because you think we're friends. So yeah, I came to Japan originally to join Ienari's family, but it feels right to stay with you."

Tsuna got a pinched look on his face. "Hayato. I really have no intention of becoming Decimo. No intention of joining the mafia."

With a small smile, Hayato ducked his head, turning red at what he was about to say. "I know and I don't care. You're my Sky, Tsuna-sama. I'll follow you to the ends of earth."

He took a quick glance at Tsuna and was rewarded with a beaming smile.

"Thanks Hayato," Tsuna said softly.

Hayato ducked his head once more, turning a bright head. "No, thank you Tsuna-sama."

\---------------------------------------

**Hibari Koumei**

Hibari Koumei was a stern man, aloof and dedicated to his cause. That cause was the capture of criminals as one of the world's greatest agents in Interpol. He had originally retired from this job after meeting his wife, Yun and joined the local police station instead. While he felt caged and restless, he endured for the simple sake of his wife and son.

Then his wife died and the restlessness increased. But the threat of the Triads against his son cause him to worried. If he had wished it, the entire extended family could have descended upon the Triads, but it would have been a long and bloody war with heavy losses. So Koumei bided his time and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike all while defending his son. Kyoya was old enough, strong enough to defend himself against small groups, but Koumei stalked the town, using his connections and his own massive strength to protect his son.

Everything changed when the Omnivore arrived in town, descending on the small town like a dark shadow. His son defined omnivores as carnivores with herbivore tendencies. While it was true that several omnivores were like that, that was not how Koumei defined Omnivores.

No. By Koumei's definition, there was only one omnivore, the girl Ayame. From the Latin roots of Omnes "all", and Vorare "to devour", Ayame was the only person Koumei knew that could, would devour everything in the world. Her reach was terrifying; people quaked in fear at her name, whispered her existence only in the shadows. More than a few people trembled at the knowledge that she had chosen to take a young boy under her wing.

Though, while he was not at her level yet, Koumei had to be impressed with Sawada Tsunayoshi. He had tamed Ayame. The wild beast he had met in the aftermath of Sinapri was nothing compared to the calm, relaxed visage Ayame had become when they had met again nearly six years later. Of course, just because Tsunayoshi had tamed her, did not make her any less dangerous. Instead of a cornered animal, lashing out, she had transformed into a waiting, calculating, lounging one, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

Which was why he had been expecting a call from his brother-in-law. Kyoya had called to inform him that Fon had come to stay in Namimori for an unspecified time. Despite the fact that he was miles away, Koumei knew what exactly to expect. No doubt Fon had run into the Omnivore and had questions about her. No one left her presence without questions.

Ring.

Flipping open his phone, Koumei answered, "Fon."

"Koumei," Fon replied back; voice crisp and clear.

"What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for information on a girl named Ayame and her connection to you and the Triads," Fon said.

Ah, blunt and direct. That was probably Koumei's favorite part about his brother-in-law. It was a shame though. Koumei had promised not to share that information with anyone as part of the agreement with the Omnivore. That was a minor trade off all things considered. The Omnivore watched over Namimori and he smoothed the path for her plans involving Vongola.

It would not do for Vongola to discover who she was too early. Well, they could, but since the Omnivore seemed to be complying with Tsunayoshi's request for a peaceful solution, an early discovery would result in Vongola's destruction. The Omnivore wasn't very good at sharing. Sinapri was more than enough proof.

"That is not something I can help you with," Koumei said in a measured voice. He hung up before Fon could ask anything else.

Things were changing in Namimori. It was too bad he would miss all that action.

\---------------------------------------

**Flames**

Ienari lit his orange Flames once more. They danced on the tips of his fingertips; tiny embers barely illuminating the dark hospital room. He frowned, puzzled at the feeling they seem to produce. They were warm, comforting and very familiar.

Why would they feel familiar? Like an old friend that had gone away and had just returned.

He stared at them, wondering why he felt so much calmer when his Flames were lit.

\---------------------------------------

**Braid**

Tsuna hummed, brushing I-pin's long black hair. Patiently, I-pin sat, waiting for Tsuna to finish.

"All done," Tsuna said.

I-pin turned around, hugging him. "Thank you, gege."

Tsuna blinked, unfamiliar with the honorific. "You welcome, I-pin."

'Note to self, find out what gege means.'

\---------------------------------------

**Letter**

Hayato opened the letter his apartment building had sent. It was written thick gray paper with a stylish K logo on top. It read:

_Gokudera Hayato_

_We are happy to announce that we are under new management. As such, the cost of rent has been lowered and new renovations will be implemented to improve the building. Pardon our dust. Enclosed is a check for the difference between the old rent and the new one. Please see attached sheets for additional changes and updates._

_Thank you!_

Hayato blinked and pulled out the enclosed check. He was surprised at this notice. There wasn't any prior warning that the building was up for sale. Wasn't it normal procedure to inform the tenants in case they need to vacate if the building sold? Flipping through the information, his eyes bugged out a little at the new rent. With this, he could drop one of his jobs!

Today was off to a great start.

\---------------------------------------

**Cake Run**

Tsuna was on his way home from a cake run. Sweets were a secret weakness and every so often, Tsuna would go out and treat himself and his mother. Today he decided to spend a little more and buy for everyone back home. Cass of course piled on as many free cakes as she could on him. Tsuna just dumped the money into her tip jar when she wasn't looking.

He was halfway home when he ran across a brown haired looking rather depressed and glum. Tsuna tilted his head, observing. Fishing into his bag, he held out a single slice of chocolate cake. Cass had packed over three different types of cakes and additional four single slices ones.

"Here. You look like you could use some cheering up," Tsuna said, offering the cake to the girl.

"Hahi? You're giving this to Haru?" the girl, Haru, asked.

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah. I bought too much anyways."

Bouncing to her feet, Haru exclaimed, "There's no such thing as too much cake!"

Tsuna laughed lightly. "If you say so. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Please call me Tsuna."

"Miura Haru," Haru introduced herself. "Call me Haru!"

\---------------------------------------

**Lightning Guardian**

Hachirou strolled into his best friend's hospital room and his jaw dropped. There dancing on Ienari's palms was a small tiny ball of orange fire.

"What the hell is that?!" Hachirou shouted.

The flames sputtered and died away as Ienari jumped, startled by Hachirou's appearance.

"What the hell," Hachirou railed. "Since when can you make fire, man?!"

He watched Ienari subtly clenched his right hand into a loose fist; a sign Ienari did when he was nervous.

"It's nothing," Ienari said.

"That was not nothing," Hachirou pressed. "People can't make flames appear! This aint a manga!"

"Leave it," Ienari demanded; temper flaring.

The stubborn bastard! Hachirou's eyes narrowed. "If you won't tell me, teach me then," he demanded.

"No," Ienari said, scowling. "You don't want to get involved Hachirou. Just leave it."

"I'll ask your tutor. I bet he knows," Hachirou threatened. He smugly grinned at Ienari's winced. Of course that strange baby tutor would know. It was pretty clear that Reborn wasn't a normal baby. Ienari had been acting odd for several months now, ever since he got that tutor. (Why Ienari even needed a tutor in the first place, Hachirou never understood. After all Ienari was the best in everything. If anything, Ienari's stupid brother Dame-Tsuna was the one who needed the tutor.)

"Don't you dare," Ienari said, glowering.

"Then tell me," Hachirou demanded. "It looks pretty strong."

Ienari flashed a grin. "It is. It'll only get stronger."

"So, you're gonna tell me?"

Ienari fell quiet. Hachirou didn't push harder, waiting for his best friend to weigh the options.

"It's not pretty. No going back and probably gonna end with us in jail," Ienari said lightly.

"Always did like living on the edge," Hachirou boasted. "Beside the ability to summon fire? That's a good trade off." Just imagine the shit he could do, how powerful he would be if he had that ability.

"Fine," Ienari relented. "Take a seat. I'll teach you."

A month later, Hachirou could summon green flames, sparking and crackling like lightning.

Ienari's Lightning Guardian had been found.

\---------------------------------------

**Uxie**

Fuuta didn't like the look on Ayame's face. It was a look he had often seen reflected on his parents' face, before the mafia had taken him away, killing his parents, trying to control him and use his powers. That tired, pinched, pained look. "Neesan?" he said softly.

He winced at the thought that she probably didn't like the fact that he had accidentally woke her up from her nap by levitating her. He only wanted to know what the best place to get taoyaki in Namimori. Honest! It was just a quick connection to the Ranking Star. He didn't mean to levitate her. Fuuta hoped she wasn't too angry.

Ayame merely sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "Looks like I was right. You're one of Uxie's descendents aren't you?"

Uxie? Fuuta had heard of that name before. His mother had mentioned it. Still, he knew better than to talk about his family history, even if Ayame ranked number three on the list of people who would protect Fuuta if he asked. So he stayed silent.

Ayame wasn't put off by his silence. Instead, she softly sighed again before reaching out to ruffle Fuuta's hair. "There's a trick to separating your two abilities you know," she mentioned casually. "A way you can access the infinite knowledge of Uxie without levitating things and vice versa. Being able to manipulate gravity can be helpful in defending yourself."

Fuuta's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked.

Ayame nodded. "You can ask Tsuna if you want. Or I'll teach you. Later though, I'm in desperate need of a nap." She rubbed her eyes; the dark circles under them standing out.

"Sorry," Fuuta apologized.

She merely waved him off. "Don't worry about it. It happens to everyone."

Fuuta bit his lip, wondering. "Neesan?" he asked timidly.

An eyebrow quirked up, asking the silent question.

"Who is Uxie?" Fuuta asked. His parents were gone. There was no one to ask questions about his family history anymore. What little Fuuta knew was it.

Ayame's golden eyes gleamed with mirth. "The bringer of knowledge."

\---------------------------------------

**Domestic**

Nana smiled as she cooked breakfast for the kids. Her home was full of laughter and smile. It was by no means perfect. Honestly the number of bullet holes Reborn could cause was a stressful thing to fret over. Despite the hitman's rough method, he did keep all the kids in order though.

Still, this was the family she had wished for when she had gotten married. Not a husband who was 'working' overseas and never home and two sons, whom she loved dearly, but couldn't get along.

"You seem extra happy today, Mamma," Reborn remarked, giving her a critical glance over.

"Today's a beautiful day," Nana simply replied.

Reborn looked outside, at the blue sunny skies and nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes it is."

\---------------------------------------

**Spar**

"Don't hold back, baseball-herbivore," Kyoya commanded.

Takeshi laughed brightly. He held his sword out, pointing it at Kyoya. "Of course senpai," he said. "Please treat me well."

Kyoya smirked, baring his tonfas before leaping.

Takeshi slid back, avoiding the leap and charged forward. Metal clashed together as Kyoya blocked Takeshi's sword with his tonfa, pushing it down to the side. Kyoya aimed a punch straight at Takeshi's stomach. Takeshi left go of his sword with his right hand, to block the punch. The baseball player was knocked back, skidding across the wooden dojo floor.

"Pay attention," Kyoya demanded, frowning at Takeshi's poor performance.

Then he felt it, the tiny slice of pressure that just grazed his cheek. A bloodthirsty grin spread across Kyoya's face as he wiped the blood away. "Much better," Kyoya said.

Frigid smile and icy eyes, Takeshi smiled back. "Thanks, Kyoya-senpai."

\---------------------------------------

**Charms**

Tsuna frowned. "She's overworked herself again."

Reborn looked at the sleeping Ayame who was crashed out on Tsuna's new bed. She was boxed into the corner, having stolen Tsuna's pillow and slumbering without much care. It didn't seem like she was registering that they were there, something Tsuna had pointed out, was a sign of exactly how exhausted she was.

"She does this often?" Fon asked.

"Don't bother her, Reborn," Tsuna scolded.

The hitman made a soft 'che' sound and let Leon return to his normal form. Tsuna never let him have any fun around Ayame. Reborn supposed it was only because Tsuna was worried about the collateral damage, which, if Reborn was honest, was a pretty big concerned considering his relationship with Ayame was still fairly antagonistic.

"And, yes, Fon-san. She does this often. Sometimes the only way she can sleep is when she crashes out like this," Tsuna explained.

Fon and Reborn shared a look. It had become apparent to them that Ayame was actually a bit of a genius; one that was probably on the same level as Verde. She didn't flaunt it, but the signs were all there: from the detached, faraway look when she observed something, the inability to stop and sleep because her mind was working in overdrive with new ideas and theories, and encyclopedia knowledge. Just the other day, Tsuna had asked her how TVs work, and Ayame broke down the theory of radio waves, electromagnetics and the way the TVs capture those waves and display the images on the screen.

Suddenly it made sense why all the kids relied on her for additional tutoring and academic help. Reborn proudly noticed that after observing Namimori Middle for a week, Fon developed the same tick reaction as Reborn towards Nezu. It was somewhat hilarious (and very sobering) to find out that Ayame had the same response.

Still, to both Reborn and Fon, the idea that she was some sort of scientific genius, clashed horribly with the idea that she was (probably given her identification as a miko) a religious person and usually the two ideologies never seemed to marry well in a person. Even with the supernatural elements of Dying Will Flames, Reborn himself could claim to be an atheist. Then there was the information they had that she was some sort of businesswoman instead of a researcher and Ayame was still an odd picture in both Acrobaleno's minds.

Tsuna threw a blanket over Ayame and ushered Reborn and Fon out of the room. The sun was already high in the clear blue sky. "By the way," Tsuna said, pulling out two charms from his pocket. "Neesan said to give these to you." He handed a red charm to Fon and a yellow one to Reborn.

"What is this?" Reborn asked, accepting the charm. It looked a bit like the charm Tsuna had given Gokudera. Was there a GPS tracker in this one too? Reborn would check later and disable it. Good intentions aside, Reborn did not like being tracked.

"Did Neesan explain the miasma of aggression surrounding Namimori? Tsuna asked.

Reborn nodded. He had also explained it to Fon after that very tense confrontation he had with Ayame.

"Right, so Neesan just cleared the miasma these last few days. She mentioned that you two don't have a grounding method, so she made those charms. The charms will stop the miasma from amplifying your negative emotions," Tsuna explained. "But it's a general protection charm, good for just more than protection against the miasma. That's kinda the reason why Neesan is crashed out on my bed. Clearing the miasma always drains her and she has to do it every so many months."

"Why always your bed?" Fon asked. It was a valid question since normally the spare futon in Bianchi's room was supposed to be Ayame's. And oddly, it wasn't even Tsuna's original bed that Ayame sought out. Tsuna's new room came with a new bed and Bianchi now had Tsuna's old bed. Yet Ayame always sought out the one Tsuna had slept in.

Tsuna shrugged. "She just said she feels better when she sleeps there. Neesan does a lot of things because it makes her feel a certain way. Certain superstitions she'll follow."

"Because she's a miko?" Fon ask. "That was how she was raised?"

Reborn gave Fon points in his head. They needed more information and Tsuna, surprisingly, did not offer that much information on Ayame. Best to grab as much information as they could while Tsuna was willing to speak.

Tsuna looked at Fon, head tilted. "Because she knows the reasons behind those superstitions. The ones she breaks are the ones she knows do not affect you in the long run."

Reborn was silence. While he hadn't mentioned to Fon yet about the Spirit World and Giotto, Reborn at least knew that Tsuna meant Ayame which stories behind certain superstitions were actually true, probably even knew god or spirit was the cause and held enough belief, enough proof to be not to chance it. Given that Reborn didn't know what superstition he broke to earn a trip into the Spirit World, even he was observing the ones he knew with a little more caution.

Amazing how much a tiny little town can change your world view.

Fon looked puzzled, like he didn't understand Tsuna's words. Reborn admitted, he most likely did not. For, like many others apart of the underground world, things like faith and belief did not last long, whether it was one's morals compromising or death due to naivety.

Tsuna just smiled, like he understood Fon's plight. "You'll figure out eventually Fon-san," he said kindly.

Now Reborn liked Fon as a person. Out of all the Acrobaleno, Fon was probably the one Reborn tolerated the most. (Luce, of course was another exception, but as a Sky, that was not uncommon. Plus, she was dead at this point and there was no point in dwelling on that.) All that said, Reborn really, really hoped that Fon messed up somewhere and took an unplanned trip into the Spirit World, just so Reborn can have someone to lament over how fucked up this entire town is. (Tsuna did not count; no one who lived in this town counted.)

Reborn looked look at the yellow charm once more, the a tiny pulse of warm seemed to radiate it off. It won't hurt to carry it. Reborn didn't like the idea of something influencing his emotions.

He liked being in control of his own emotions.

\---------------------------------------

**Falcon**

Fuuta looked at the exquisite bird that was sitting on the balcony edge. Its back was to Fuuta, a beautiful sea green color of feathers. Fuuta thought maybe it was a falcon, but the color was unusual. His fingers twitched forward with all the childish curiosity that he had.

Before he could reach out, the bird let out a shrill screech, turning its head to glare its black eyes at Fuuta. Fuuta withdrew his hand, giving a shaky smile at it.

The falcon preened itself feathers, turning around to look at Fuuta. Fuuta got the distinct impression that the falcon was watching him.

"Fuuta!" Tsuna called from somewhere inside the house. "We're going to the park if you want to come."

Fuuta turned around, the falcon already fading from his mind, replaced by the knowledge of going to the park with his big brother. "Coming!" He darted back inside.

With another chirp, the falcon remained behind, watching.

\---------------------------------------

**Irie Shoichi**

"Are you okay Neesan?" Tsuna asked, concerned.

Ayame merely yawned. "Yes. I could do with more sleep, but today's a special day no?" She gave him a fond smile and reached out to ruffle his brown hair.

Tsuna smiled softly at the gesture. Today marked the sixth anniversary of Ayame and Tsuna's meeting. As per their tradition every year, Ayame treated Tsuna out to dinner. It was hard to imagine that it had been so long already. Was it really six years ago that Tsuna had met Ayame in the park? So many things had changed.

Lost in happy memories, Tsuna wasn't paying much attention as they rounded a corner and he ran straight into someone. Papers scattered, flying away in the wind. "I'm so sorry!" Tsuna blurted out, kneeling down to pick up the papers.

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention," the boy said, kneeling down too.

Ayame was chasing after the papers that the wind had blown down the street. Tsuna paused at the titles of papers, recognizing most of them. 'These papers are…' Tsuna thought to himself, eyes wide.

"You've read all of these papers?" Tsuna asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

The redhead boy flinched and nervously clutched his stomach. "Y-yes."

"That's amazing," Tsuna asked, in awe. If this boy, who wasn't that much older than Tsuna understood even a fraction of what was written on these papers (said papers Tsuna knew were actually very, very, hard to find), the redhead had to be a genius of some sort. Maybe this was the person they were looking for!

"Here you go," Ayame said, reappearing with a stack of papers. She handed them back to the redhead boy.

Said boy was now staring at Ayame, gaping. He pointed at her, in shaking. "You're…! You're…!"

Ayame's eyebrow rose. "You recognize who I am?"

The boy swallowed and nodded, apparently not trusting his ability to speak.

"Huh," Ayame said, a little surprised. "Been in Namimori for over six years and this is the first time anyone has recognized me." Her voice turned a little wistful. "I was beginning to enjoy the anonymity."

Tsuna on the other hand just handed the cover sheet of one of the papers to Ayame. He watched as Ayame's eyes grew wide and her head snapped back to the redhead.

"You understood this paper?" she demanded. "Every theory and explanation in this paper?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes!" he squeaked. He nervously pushed his brown glasses up his nose.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna cut in, before Ayame could scare away the poor boy. He knew full well that Ayame could come across as terrifying when she discovered something new that she liked. "But please call me Tsuna. And since you recognize her, there's no need to introduce Neesan to you."

"Irie Shoichi," the redhead introduced himself.

"Irie-kun," Ayame said, voice velvety smooth and frankly, sounded too much like Reborn's voice when he was about to do something that would end in blood, tears and lots of chaos. Her hands clasped around Irie's. "How would you like a job?"

"What?!" Irie shouted.

Tsuna was not going to laugh. That would be rude. But he thanked very god in existence that he was not one of Ayame's or Reborn's frequent targets. In fact, he thanked that both chaos incarnates _liked_ him.

"A job," Ayame repeated. "As my assistant-" She was cut off as Irie fainted on her.

Ayame frowned, distantly upset as she lifted Irie off the ground. She looked at Tsuna, frustrated. "Why do people keep fainting on me?" she demanded to know.

Tsuna couldn't help but burst out laughing.

\---------------------------------------

**Sandy Desert**

Hayato woke up in a desert. It was unbearably hot, a dry heat that made him feel like he was being cooked alive. The sand crunched under his feet as he stood, trying to get his bearing. Where the fuck was he and how did he get here?

The sandy environment stretched for miles, as far as the eyes could see. Hayato scowled. If this was someone's idea of a prank, it was a poor one. His eyes widened, no wait, what if this was an attempt on Tsuna's life?! Hayato had to get back to his Sky as soon as possible.

He picked a direction and headed off, taking in what little landmarks that he could. Hayato had just passed a cluster of tall rocks when a voice called out, "And now a little Storm wanders in."

Hayato turned around, pulling out dynamites from his pockets. There, sitting on the rocks was a teenage boy with black hair and ice blue eyes. The teen gave Hayato a tiny two finger salute. "I'm Zephyr," he introduced himself.

"And welcome to the Spirit World, Gokudera Hayato."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **General Notes:**  
>  Uxie - I'm allowed to have Pokemon references in my story! As some of you might recognize, Uxie is one of the Legendary Lake Guardians. Uxie is the bringer of knowledge, also has the ability 'leviate'.  
> [Miko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko) \- a shrine maiden.  
> [Charms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omamori) \- also known as omamori 


	14. Daily Life Arc 2: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
> 
> _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Howl**

Hayato woke up with a headache. His ears rang with the sound of a wolf's howl as images flashed through his mind: a desert, a teenager with ice blue eyes and an unbearable heat. He rubbed his forehead. "What a strange dream," Hayato muttered to himself.

Staggering out of his bed and into the bathroom, he didn't even notice the trail of sand he was leaving behind.

\---------------------------------------

**Human**

Zephyr stretched, letting the human form he had borrowed fade away. He flexed his claws, enjoying the breeze through his mane. The human form, no matter how fond he was of the person whose appearance he was borrowing, was very restrictive and oddly shaped.

Gokudera Hayato had passed his trial. Now only time would tell if anything would come from it.

Zephyr flew off, disappearing into the blue sky.

\---------------------------------------

**No Going Back**

"Hahi! Does Tsuna need help with that?"

Tsuna looked up to see Haru standing next to him. He looked down at the large bags of groceries he had been carrying, before a large burly man had tripped him. Said groceries were now scattered on the street. Thankfully Tsuna had not gone to market to buy anything fragile or liquid like eggs or milk. Lambo's favorite cereal was unfortunately crushed and spilling out. Lambo would just have to go without it because Tsuna was not going back to the market again, to be pushed around, again. Yes, Lambo would just have to wait until Nana went herself.

"Thanks Haru," Tsuna said as the girl bent down to help Tsuna collect his groceries. The cans were a little dented, but thankfully still intact.

"No worries," Haru said cheerfully. She shot a glare in the direction that the man had left in. "Some people can be very rude."

They quickly collected the groceries off the ground and Haru walked Tsuna back to his house. Upon their return, Nana quickly invited Haru in for dinner. Dinner, of course, was a full house with nearly everyone over. It devolved quickly as it did every night.

As one of Hayato and Hana's verbal spars got out of hand and Ryohei tossing the bowl of salad to Takeshi, Haru turned to look at Tsuna.

"Hahi, you have a strange family, Tsuna," she remarked.

Tsuna beamed. "I know."

\---------------------------------------

**Start of a Comedy Routine**

Ayame did not have Hyper Intuition. However, due to her very… _colorful_ childhood, she did have a set of honed instincts that had saved her life more than once.

Said instincts were currently warning her about something. Oddly, her danger instincts were not going off, which mean whatever the warning was, it wasn't a dangerous threat to her. That, however, just made her despair because that meant whatever was coming, it was _interesting_.

Ayame hated when something _interesting_ happened to her. Was it too much to ask for something normal? Living in Namimori had made her soft. She was actually starting to get used to normal (or as normal as her life could get when one could run around talking to spirits and sensing emotions in things and lived in a town surrounded by a miasma of aggression). People, Irie and Koumei aside, didn't recognize who she was!

So lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice the _interesting_ thing was _starting_ until she was completely drenched. Ayame yelped as a cup of soda spilled completely all over her, staining her white blouse. She sputtered, pushing her brown bangs to the side to look at the person responsible for this.

It was Dino. Reborn's student. What the hell was he doing here?!

She stared as Dino panicked. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "Let me help!"

"No!" Ayame started. She was cut off as Dino tripped over his feet and literally crashed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Ayame gasped as the air was forcefully knocked out of her. She was already a head shorter than Dino, typical of a Japanese woman such as herself and damnit the man was heavy.

"I'm so sorry," Dino apologized, pushing himself off of her.

She merely groaned, feeling that tingly feeling in the back of her head. Whenever Fate and Destiny were mocking her, she would get that exact feeling. Glaring up at him, Ayame hissed. "If this becomes a regular thing-" which it better not given the fact that he normally lived in Italy "I will kill you."

Dino lightly chuckled, not at all fazed by her threat.

Admittedly, as a mafia don, he probably received threats like that all the time. He also probably didn't know who she was or how very **serious** she was about that threat.

Normality. Was that really too much to ask for?!

\---------------------------------------

**Kindness**

Sawada Tsunayoshi was kind.

In the weeks she had come to live in the Sawada Household, Bianchi had come to the realization that Sawada Tsunayoshi was above else, kind. He had a gentle heart, opening and accepting with a soft smile. Ienari might be a brat, Tsuna might be the better choice, but there was a small part within Bianchi that was immensely glad that Tsuna was not going to be tainted by Vongola and the mafia.

There was no room for kindness in the mafia. Such a foolish notion was immediately stomped out any child's personality early on. Those that clung to that idea, were either naive fools that would die a quick death before even reaching adulthood or were nothing more than pawns in a bigger game. There were a few who could afford to be kind, those who built up their reputation and power so high that they were untouchable. Reborn was one; Bianchi was well aware that under all that chaos and sadism, Reborn had a golden heart. One only had to look no further than Tsuna and Dino for examples. Fon and Shamal were others; I-pin and Hayato were their examples.

Bianchi was not one of them. The Poison Scorpion was not a kind person. She couldn't afford to be.

She did have one weakness and that was her brother Hayato.

Despite their rocky relationship, Bianchi doted over her half-brother because family was family regardless. She, in her own way, watched over him as best as she could. It was her that lead him to Shamal and his perverted tendencies aside, Bianchi was in Shamal's debt for taking in her brother. To this day, Bianchi held out to the idea that somehow, she and Hayato could be functional siblings together. She would like at least one face to face conversation with Hayato that didn't result in him collapsing or her having to wear goggles.

Bianchi had come to Japan for two reasons. One was of course to see Reborn, but the bigger reason was because Reborn had told her Hayato would be here.

She hadn't been expecting to arrive to witness some bastards had kidnapped Hayato or, later, to find out that Hayato gravitated to, willing chosen Tsuna over Ienari, regardless of the fact that by doing so, he would never amount to anything in the mafia world (something she knew had been a dream, a desire, to prove everyone, their father included, that Hayato could do something for himself, bastard status be damned.).

As for her… Tsuna accepted Bianchi with nothing more a grin, barely batting an eyelash and allowed her, a trained assassin who he didn't even know, into his home. Nana was everything she had wished her mother would have been (everything she had found in Lavina before her death). The kids adored her and Hayato's _friends_ didn't shy away from her, treating her with respect that Bianchi had to normally prove that she was worthy of.

"Good morning Bianchi," Tsuna greeted her.

A smile spread across her face. "Good morning, Tsuna-kun," she responded. "You're cooking breakfast today?"

Tsuna nodded. "I figured I'll give Kaasan a break and I don't have to rush off to school since it's summer break. So any requests? I'm not a great cook like Kaasan though." He put on a blue apron.

"How about waffles?" Bianchi asked.

Tsuna grinned. "That, I can make. One order of waffles coming up."

Ten minutes later, Bianchi sat down at the table with a plate of fluffy waffles before her. She poured the strawberry syrup over them, cutting into the waffles with her fork. Tsuna poured her a cup of coffee before moving on to ruffle a still sleepy Fuuta's flaxen golden hair.

Bianchi smiled to herself, relaxing in a way she hadn't thought would be possible. So this was what real home felt like? 'Perhaps, Hayato had the right idea,' she thought. 'Perhaps staying with here in Namimori, staying with Tsuna, would be a good thing.'

If that night she dreamt of orange rivers, yellow skies, strange physics and a teenage boy with black hair and ice blue eyes, it was passed off nothing more than a dream.

\---------------------------------------

**Solar**

"Ne, Hayato?"

"Yes Tsuna-sama!"

Tsuna smiled. "Just Tsuna, Hayato," he gently corrected. "I was wondering if you knew anything about renewable energy and solar panels?"

Hayato nodded, whipping out his glasses. "Of course I do Tsuna-sama! Would you like me to teach you?"

Tsuna huffed at the '-sama- honorific, but didn't say anything about it. It seemed correcting Hayato of that habit would take some time. "Yes, please," Tsuna said instead.

The pursuit of knowledge came first.

\---------------------------------------

**Ghost**

"Tsuna-nii?"

Tsuna looked up to see Fuuta staring not at Tsuna, but at the space next to Tsuna. The brunet followed Fuuta's sightline and landed on Giotto. Blinking, Tsuna turned back to Fuuta and asked, "Fuuta, can you see Giotto?"

Giotto, of course, snapped his head in Fuuta's direction. "Fuuta?" he asked tentatively.

"Hello," Fuuta said nervously.

"Huh," Tsuna said. "Why can you see Giotto?" Tsuna knew that Giotto was still on the spiritual frequency, not the physical one. That meant, technically, Fuuta should not be able to see Giotto, much less hear him.

"Passive ability for those born with spiritual abilities," Ayame said, entering the room. "First time seeing a spirit, Fuuta?" she asked.

Fuuta asked. "Or as far as I can tell. I just know for a fact that Primo-sama is dead."

"It's fine to call me Giotto," Giotto said.

"His Sight is probably a little watered down then," Ayame said. "Given that he's a few generations removed from Uxie, that's really not a surprise. That or he hasn't been around enough spiritually charged areas to kick start it until he got here."

"I thought Namimori wasn't spiritually charged enough, that's why the wards to let Giotto come here had to go up," Tsuna asked.

Ayame snorted. "There are so many spirits and gods visiting Namimori that it's becoming spiritually charged. Haven't you noticed? Giotto has been able to stay longer and longer over the years."

"Oh. I thought I was just getting better at managing it," Giotto said with a frown.

Fuuta looked at them confused. "I don't understand," he admitted.

"It's a bit like how solar panels work," Tsuna started off. "You can get energy from sunlight. Papa, Giotto runs on spirit energy. He absorbs the spirit particles from the air and that allows him to maintain his form here in the physical plane. Namimori didn't have much spirit particles, basically not enough sunlight for Giotto to run on, so every so often he has to return to the Spirit World which is rich of spirit particles."

"But as more and more spirits pass through Namimori, leaving behind imprints, Namimori slowly becomes spiritually charged," Ayame added.

Fuuta nodded. "That make sense."

Giotto reached out to hug Fuuta, shifting down to the physical plane so he could touch Fuuta. "Yay," the blond cheered. "That means another person can see me!" He spun Fuuta around.

Fuuta laughed. "Are there anymore like you, Giotto-san?"

Giotto smiled. "Yup. There's a whole lot of us. I'll introduce you!"

\---------------------------------------

**Fruits**

"Oh you have a roommate, Ineari-kun."

Ienari looked up and blushed a bright red as Inmen entered the room. He took a quick moment to glare at his new roommate, (one very beaten up Koujin) before smiling at Inmen. "H-hi, Inmen-chan. Yeah, Hibari-sempai beat us both up," Ienari said.

Inmen frowned. "That brute. Honestly, what is his problem? I heard you had to stay in the hospital until October now."

"Oi, Iron Fan Girl! Is that for me?" Koujin called out.

Inmen glared at Koujin. "No, these are for Ienari-kun." She set the basket of fruit she had been carrying down on the table.

"Shut up, Koujin," Ienari quietly hissed. He did not need Koujin to make him look bad in front of Inmen!

Koujin flipped him off and threw a kunai at Ienari.

Clang!

Inmen deflected the kunai with her iron fan. "I would appreciate it if you didn't go throwing dangerous weapons, Koujin-kun," she said sharply. "Or I will finish what Hibari-san started."

"Whatever," Koujin said, laying back in his bed.

Inmen's ocean blue eyes narrowed, but she tucked away her iron fan and pulled out a small knife and an apple from the basket. She took a seat at Ienari's bedside and began to cut the apple. "You're going to need to get better soon, Ienari-kun," she scolded. "You're missing so much school!"

Ienari blushed a brighter red. 'Inmen-chan is cutting apples for me!' Nodding, he said, "Ye-yeah. I'll do my best."

How could he not?

\---------------------------------------

**Report IV**

Nono,

Have you been receiving my reports? I am not convinced that Ienari is the best choice as a candidate for Decimo.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Report IV Revised**

Nono,

All is well.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Doctor**

"You've been teaching Ryohei medicine."

Shamal suppressed a groan as he heard Reborn's voice. He knew this conversation was long overdue. Honestly, he was surprised Reborn waited until this long. Then again, this town was strange and that probably took priority over everything.

"The kid had active Sun Flames and more control than I imagined. I figured a proper Sun Flame User would not be remiss in this town," Shamal said. "I told the kid I wasn't going to teach him how to be a doctor, medical school exist for a reason. But the kid wanted to know how to heal with Flames, and that is something you can't pick up in medical school. Admittedly the kid has been soaking up that knowledge fairly quickly, which is surprising given his general airheadedness and young age. He doesn't understand the theory behind it too much, but already has a good practical basis already."

Reborn quirked an eyebrow up. "He has active Flames?"

"You didn't know?" Shamal asked. That… was not like Reborn at all.

"No. I knew he had a strong potential, that was why I originally had him tapped for Ienari's Sun Guardian," Reborn said. "That, of course, was before I figured out things were terrible between the twins and that Ryohei had picked Tsuna."

"Ever figure out why?" Shamal asked, curious. He was largely removed from the heart of the situation, especially now that summer had come and Shamal no longer ran into the older twin or even his own protege as often.

"A little bit," Reborn said. "But not the root. No one wants to speak of the situation."

Shamal could tell that fact irritated the hitman greatly.

Reborn pulled out a yellow charm. "When you get the chance, ask Tsuna for one of these," he instructed.

"What? Why?"

"You won't regret it. Consider it a precaution that is worth investing to," Reborn said.

Well, when Reborn put it like that…

\---------------------------------------

**Dino**

Dino was having a bad week. Sorta. Kinda.

In many ways, it wasn't any different than his usual weeks. He was still clumsy without his subordinates, had to pay out for quite a bit of broken dishes, cups, and other items, tripped over people, got threatened a couple times and overall, nothing too unusual. What was different was that Reborn had ordered him to come to Japan (but didn't specify why).

Upon his arrival, he had crashed into a pretty girl with brown hair and golden eyes, upsetting her even more with his offers to pay for the cleaning of her outfit. That… happened two more times. Accidently! It wasn't like Dino planned on crashing into the same poor girl three times! Then Reborn dragged him off to the hospital to meet the Decimo Candidate, Sawada Ienari.

That was… enlightening.

_Ienari looked at Dino with an expression that clearly said 'I'm superior to you in every way, bug'. "He just tripped over thin air, Reborn. Are you sure you didn't mean to introduce him to Dame-Tsuna?" Ienari asked._

Either Dino's Japanese was not up to par (which was laughable because Reborn would have him in remedial training faster than Dino could say 'Nihongo') or Ienari really did just call his brother 'no-good'. It wasn't even said with the touch of fondness that Reborn embedded into his own insults. (Baka-Dino was both an insult and a term of endearment when it came from Reborn.)

What kind of person insulted their blood brother like that, in front of a stranger no less?

And now Dino had to meet the other twin, Sawada Tsunayoshi?

Dino didn't have high expectations. He had been subjected to Iemitsu's ramblings at one point or another, and considering Ienari called his twin 'Dame', Dino was more or less expecting a younger version of himself before Dino had met Reborn.

He wasn't wrong. He wasn't completely right either.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was skittish, nervous, but not as clumsy as Dino once was. There was strength and resolve reflected in his eyes. The majority of his nervousness seemed to come from the fact that Dino was an unknown stranger because Tsuna barely flinched when Reborn fired a bullet at Dino who lingered too long. That kind of calm usually came with the acceptance that Reborn was _Reborn_ and best to go with the flow when it came to the Sun Arcobaleno.

The most interesting thing?

Dino's Sky Flames were resonating.

Dino couldn't remember ever feeling like that. He had gotten a tiny resonation meeting Nono and a few other mafia bosses, practically nothing from Ienari, but meeting Tsuna? Dino had to stop his Flames from rushing out like a broken dam. Tsuna had Sky Flames and they were resonating with Dino's and Dino was so lost, he wasn't even funny. He struggled to focus because Tsuna didn't have a small amount of untapped Sky Flames, but rather a large amount as deep as the ocean and Dino wasn't careful he was going to drownandthatwasbadnonono….!

Then, like most things, Dino fumbled, his control slipped and his Sky Flames came rushing out. The feeling of drowning vanished, replaced by _harmony_. Suddenly Dino felt like he had been wrapped in a fluffy warm blanket. He felt safe and warm, as if he had just arrived back home to his famiglia.

This was so confusing.

"Dino-san? Are you alright?"

Dino snapped out of his thoughts. (Somewhere in his mind, he mourned as the warmth faded away.) "Yup," he said, with false cheer, trying not to betray the turmoil he felt.

Given Reborn's look, Dino had failed at that, but it was Reborn. Dino didn't really have any hope in fooling his ex-tutor. (Oh god, what was he going to say when Reborn asked what happened? Dino didn't know how to explain it! It was one of the few things that Dino would never be able to explain to Reborn because it was something so intrinsic to Sky Flame Users that Reborn would never understand! Dino didn't even understand himself!)

What surprised him was when Tsuna's eyes flashed orange ('He has Hyper Intuition too?!' his mind wailed.) and Tsuna pinned him with a look too similar to Reborn's.

"Dino-san," Tsuna said.

"You're… you're not what I expected," Dino admitted. A half truth to deflect from the actual problem.

A bitter smile twisted on Tsuna's face. "What were you're expecting?" he asked self-depreciating.

Dino frowned at that tone. He didn't like that. There was far too much self loathing in Tsuna's voice that Dino was comfortable with.

"A younger me," Dino said. "But you're doing a lot better than I was at your age."

Tsuna blinked, surprised. He looked at Reborn for confirmation.

Reborn merely nodded. "Baka-Dino was far worse than you when I first met him. He couldn't walk more than ten steps without tripping over something."

"Oh," Tsuna said. Then he grinned, "I use to be like that too actually. Still am on most days. So really, if you had come to Namimori earlier, I would have been exactly what you expected."

Dino felt his heart warmed. Why wasn't Tsunayoshi the Decimo Candidate? Dino could foresee a long and abundant alliance with Vongola if Tsunayoshi was to become Decimo.

Dino got the distinct feeling that Ienari would do nothing but mock him. That was not a good thing because old alliances aside, Dino still had his own pride. There would be only so much he would be able to take before Dino snapped and did something that would result in remedial training from Reborn that would make his original training look like a walk in the park and Dino was not looking forward to that.

"So how are you liking Namimori so far?" Tsuna asked.

Dino laughed lightly. "So far it's pretty cool! There's this one girl I keep accidently crashing into though. I keep offering to pay for the cleaning of her clothes and to buy her a new set, but she just rolls her golden eyes at me and storms off."

Tsuna choked and Dino felt his stomach sink.

"You're the one who keeps running into Neesan?" Tsuna asked in disbelief.

Well… judging from Tsuna's voice, that was apparently not a good thing. "Who?" Dino asked.

"Ayame-nee," Tsuna clarified. "A young woman with brown hair in a braid and golden eyes. Maybe a head shorter than you?"

"Sounds about right," Dino said, fretting. He glanced over at Reborn who looked impassively at him. Dino was getting a bad feeling about all of this.

Tsuna reached over and patted Dino's hand. He looked oddly sympathetic. "Don't worry," Tsuna said. "I'll make sure to head off any plans she has to murder you."

Shit. What did Dino get himself into?!

\---------------------------------------

**Bo Staff**

Ienari looked at his wooden bo staff. One of the many karate disciplines was the use of the bo staff. It was a talent that Ienari was quite good at, even better than his hand to hand combat. Reborn had mentioned that it was possible to channel Flames through weapons. (Which, now that Ienari thought about it, did explain the yellow energy that Reborn sometimes fired at him.)

So by that theory Ienari should be able to channel his Flames through his bo staff.

Taking a deep breath, Ienari fell into his meditative state, reaching for the burst of warmth. To his delight, a tiny ball of orange flames appeared on the tip of his bo staff. Quickly followed by the smell of burning wood. Shit. Flames plus wood was not one of his better ideas. Water! Water!

Ienari looked at his ash covered bed and his ruined bo staff. "Reborn cannot know about this," Ienari said.

"Dame-Ienari, as if you could keep a secret from me."

"Reborn!"

\---------------------------------------

**Bedtime Story**

"And so the musician reached out to the blue dragon. His small human hand was as large as one the many blue scales that covered the dragon's body."

Reborn let Tsuna's soft words washed over him. He nestled against Tsuna's chest as the brunet held the book in one hand, and threaded his fingers of his other hand through Lambo's black curls. The cow had already drifted off to sleep minutes ago, with both I-pin and Fuuta both looking as if they weren't that far behind joining Lambo in dreamland.

The three kids shared one bedroom and every night Tsuna would read them a bedtime story and tuck them in. On occasions, Reborn and Fon would sit in and join them. Reborn found Ayame sitting in the hallway outside once. Tsuna drew them all in, gentle as a mother's touch.

"'Human,' the dragon warned.

'You're hurt,' the musician replied. 'I am no healer, but let me play you a song for your soul?'"

Reborn was a grown adult, but ultimately he was trapped in the body of a baby and thus subjected to the physical limits of said body. Against his will, he felt himself drifting off, Tsuna's words lulling him to sleep, warm and content.

"The dragon nodded his consent and the musician pulled out his violin and began to play. The beautiful melody filled the air, promising peace and healing. A new friendship was born that day."

\---------------------------------------

**Faint**

Ayame read over the report Irie had just handed her. Her jaw dropped as she read. She had never considered that before. Her mind reveled at the endless possibilities. This would require a whole lot of testing and experimenting. Would any metal work? She highly doubted it. But this was a possible solution to their entire problem.

"This is brilliant, Irie-kun," Ayame said, stun and wide eyed.

"R-really?" Irie asked, fretting nervously. "I didn't think it was possible to do."

Ayame didn't lift her eyes from the report. Genius she may be, but Irie was clearly going to surpass her in this field, which was a good thing because Ayame started off not even aware of this particular field and she had struggled to adapt to this field's way of thinking.

'They think so small,' Ayame grumbled to herself. 'Not that Irie-kun isn't brilliant or is only capable of thinking small, but the main reason why I was having trouble with this experiment was because I was aware one of their fundamental rules of the field was… flawed and I couldn't convince myself to look past it.'

She scanned the report once more, marveling at Irie's simple but extraordinary solution. 'This solution, it's incredible,' she thought. 'Within the limits of the field, Irie-kun is right; it is impossible to do. But since I know which of their fundamental laws is flawed, that makes this solution possible. It is just a matter of finding the right balance, the right combination of materials and being very very careful.'

A loud thud drew Ayame out of her thoughts and she looked up to find Irie on the floor passed out. "Irie-kun!" She rushed over to him, checking over him. "He fainted," Ayame blurted out.

Pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration -Irie needed to stop fainting on her-, Ayame lifted him onto her couch. Once she was sure he was comfortable, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. Upon hearing the other person pick up, she wailed into the phone.

"Tsuna! Irie-kun keeps fainting on me!"

\---------------------------------------

**Inter-Middle School Kendo Championships**

"Congrats, cousin," Hisen chirped.

Kensuke puffed out his chest. "First place! Told you I would take it." He slung his shinai over his shoulder. "How did yours go?"

Hisen unfolded her tessen to hide her smile. "We won of course. I did not expect anything less."

Kensuke rolled his eyes. "Again, not everyone is a battle genius like you Hisen."

Hisen scoffed, a touch of arrogance in the normally ladylike girl. "Please. It's only to be expected. I push my teammates the same way I push you."

Kensuke just sighed. There was no talking to Hisen when she was like this. Strength was the core of Mochida and Inmen families' teachings. It was no surprise that Hisen thought like that.

Actually, speaking of strength. "I heard the Karate team took second place," Kensuke remarked.

Hisen frowned. "Ienari-kun is still in the hospital. Without their Captain, it was frankly amazing that they even made it that far," she said in an even tone. "Ienari-kun was upset that he had to miss the summer tournament. But there is still the winter one. I'm sure he'll seek vengeance then. We cannot let Namimori's winning record go tarnished under our watch."

"Of course Hisen."

\---------------------------------------

**Return to School**

'Hiiieee,' Tsuna thought to himself. Summer break had come to an end. Today was the first day back to school and already Tsuna had found himself cornered by his usual bullies. He flinched as one of them slammed his hand near Tsuna's face, shrinking into himself.

"If it isn't Dame-Tsuna," the bully jeered. "No bodyguards to protect you, which means we can beat you up without Yamamoto or Hibari from interfering."

Tsuna froze. 'No,' his mind hissed. 'No. I promised to better than this. I promised to take care of myself as well as my friends.' He straightened, standing tall and stared back at the bully unwaveringly.

Surprised by the sudden change, the bully took a step back.

Tsuna narrowed his eyes. This would not continue. Ienari may be a different type of mess that Tsuna would have to eventually confront, but bullies? They were small fries, most likely influenced by the miasma, not worth his time or grief and Tsuna would **not** let them walk over him anymore. "No," Tsuna said firmly. "You will not bully me anymore. I am not your punching bag, a target you can lash out. I will no longer accept your hurtful words or fists. I. Am. Not. Afraid. Of. You."

He brushed past his bullies and head off to class, leaving his stunned classmates behind.

\---------------------------------------

**Exam**

"Sit," Shamal ordered the minute Tsuna walked into his infirmary.

Bemused, Tsuna took a seat and waited patiently as Shamal examined him.

"No injuries as far as I can see," Shamal mumbled. "Who beat you up this time?"

"No one?" Tsuna asked. He held up an indigo charm. "I just wanted to give this to you? Reborn mentioned you wanted one."

Shamal collapsed into his chair, running a hand through his hair. "Shit, kid. I don't normally even treat guys and you already have me conditioned to the point where I automatically look for injuries on you."

"I'm sorry?" Tsuna said meekly.

Shamal just sighed. Oh the things he did.

"But I am trying to take a stand against my bullies this semester," Tsuna said, smiling softly. "So hopefully I won't be coming into your infirmary injured so often anymore."

Shamal stared at him. He had heard the story from Reborn, but it was another thing to see it in person; that strong resolve burning in Tsuna's eyes. What Tsuna didn't know was that Shamal had spread his mosquitoes around the school and Shamal had known that just minutes ago, Tsuna had been cornered by bullies. That was why Shamal had expected injuries on Tsuna. People were just empty words, most of the time; action was proof. He was beginning to see what Hayato saw in Tsuna.

"You'll do fine," Shamal said softly. "And being injury free doesn't mean you can't visit an old man like me."

Tsuna smiled at Shamal's offer, buzzing with happiness.

So this was the Sky that captivated his protege.

\---------------------------------------

**Birthday Gift**

"Happy Birthday Hayato!" Tsuna cheered. He handed the bomber a red present. "This is from Neesan and me."

Hayato teared up. "Tsuna-sama you are too kind!" He opened the box to reveal a new metal skull necklace. Hayato's eyes lit up. "This is perfect!" he said, throwing it over his neck.

Tsuna smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Now come on! We have to meet everyone at the movie theaters."

Hayato blinked. "What?"

"Kyoya-sempai gave us all passes for the day," Tsuna said. "Birthdays are important and they only come once a year. Haru and Kyoko worked very hard to plan out the entire day so we can't be late. First up, movies!" He linked his arm around a stunned Hayato and dragged him off.

Hayato had _friends_ who wanted to celebrated his birthday with him. Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.

\---------------------------------------

**Release Date**

Ienari grinned. Finally, his release date was approaching: October 15th. Granted, it would be a day after his birthday, which meant he would be celebrating his 14th birthday at the hospital, but anything to be free of these five months of hospitalization. He would have been freed earlier, if Hibari hadn't set back his recovery by an additional two months.

But he had been cleared of his injuries; wouldn't even need crutches when he was released as all his fractures and broken bones would be completely healed. Honestly the staff was just keeping him on at this point because of his physical therapy and observation.

Koujin had already been released, much to Ienari's displeasure and delight. Ienari hated the fact that Koujin got to go home nearly two weeks ago, but having no roommate again, especially when Inmen visited, was a plus.

'Thud!'

"What the hell, Reborn!" Ienari shouted, nursing his new bump on the head from being hit with a Leon Hammer.

"Pay attention, Dame-Ienari," his tutor mocked. "You cannot even keep your Flames lit for more than a minute and no bigger than a 100 yen coin. You've been slacking."

"What! No! I have not," Ienari protested.

"That's what they all say," Reborn said darkly, hitting Ienari's knee.

"Damnit Reborn. Stop hitting me before they don't release me for another week!"

\---------------------------------------

**Preparation**

"Tsuna!"

Tsuna turned around to see Dino waving at him excitably. "Dino-nii," Tsuna greeted. It had been a few short weeks since he had met the older man. Dino had loudly professed that Tsuna should call him Dino-nii after Tsuna had inverted one of Ayame's many plans to hurt the mafia don. Ayame sulked about it for days.

"Reborn's birthday is coming up," Dino said by way of a preamble. "Wanna help me set up a party?"

Tsuna brightened. Reborn's birthday was coming up? "Sure, when is it?" Tsuna said.

"The 13th," Dino said.

Tsuna blinked, surprised. "The 13th?" he asked.

"Yup," Dino said.

"No can do. We have something planned that day," Takeshi cut into the conversation.

Tsuna jumped, turning to glare at his friend. Takeshi needed to wear a bell and stop appearing out of thin air!

"Can it be rescheduled?" Dino asked with a pout. "Birthdays only come once a year."

Takeshi nodded. "I agree."

"I'm sure we can still make it to Reborn's party," Tsuna said. "We don't have to do..." He let out a small 'hiee' as Takeshi's eyes grew cold for a split second.

Then Takeshi let out a bright laugh. "I guess we'll just have to make a double birthday party then!"

Dino looked between Takeshi and Tsuna. "Wait… is the 13th Tsuna's birthday too?"

Takeshi nodded. "Yup," he said. "Ayame-nee already started planning it. You should probably ask her for the details."

"She doesn't like me very much," Dino said.

That was an understatement. Dino brought the number of times he had crashed into Ayame to an even ten in the few weeks he had been here. It happened enough times that Tsuna could see Ayame's paranoia triggering. Ayame was currently convinced Dino was cursed or possessed.

"Nothing over the top please," Tsuna pleaded.

Takeshi just looked amused. "It's Ayame-nee," he pointed out.

Tsuna had to concede to that. Though he had hope that if it was a double party, Ayame's dislike for Reborn would prevent her from doing anything… drastic. In fact, Tsuna could probably bank on it. A double party was starting to sound even better.

Dino latched onto Takeshi. "You're coming with me and telling me all about Tsuna's party. Sorry Tsuna, I'm borrowing your friend!"

"Tsuna! Walk home with Hayato," Takeshi called out, letting himself be dragged away by Dino.

Tsuna waved goodbye as Dino and Takeshi disappeared around the corner.

So… he and Reborn shared the same birthday? Awesome.

\---------------------------------------

**Celebration (Happy Birthday)**

Tsuna was partly right.

All in all, the celebration his friends planned were rather tame, compared to last year. But adding Reborn to the mix (and whatever the hell was a Vongola Style party) increased the chaos and craziness by tenfold. In short, it was an entire mess. The couch would need replacing, Hayato was knocked unconscious thanks to Bianchi's poison cooking, Takeshi was laughing carefreely and Ayame already tried to throw Dino out the window after he had gotten cake on her shirt. Kyoya took shelter in the kitchen, willing helping Nana with the food preparation if only to 'stay away from the noisy herbivores'. Everyone else was sitting around, chatting and eating. Loud, noisy, and messy with everyone cramp tightly into the living room.

But Tsuna wouldn't change anything in the entire world.

"Enjoying your birthday, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, holding out a plate of chocolate cake to him.

Tsuna took the plate with a smile. "Yeah. Happy Birthday to you too, Reborn."

The hitman offered him a rare smile in return and he settled next to Tsuna, observing everyone. Irie had just became an unfortunate test subject to one of Fon's gyoza and I-pin just tackled Lambo to the ground. Kyoko moved to break up their fight and Fuuta looked like he was one step away from ranking the many types of sushi Tsuyoshi was showing him.

"My birthday have never been this lively before," Tsuna commented happily. "Not to say that my friends and Neesan can't be over the top. But… it wasn't that long ago that I use to celebrate my birthday with just Kaasan. Ienari never wanted to celebrate with me, and eventually Kaasan stopped trying to force him." His eleventh birthday was the first time he had a proper birthday party, ten was tainted by the memories of his suicide attempt at the bridge, the less said about nine the better and everything before that was isolated, lonely and with the fear of Ienari.

"What about Ienari's parties?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna shrugged. "He didn't want me around for them. If the party was here, I was would be in my room for it. It wasn't worth it, especially since majority of Ienari's friend didn't even like me. Ienari was always popular; his parties were never small or quiet."

"And Iemitsu?" Reborn asked; his black eyes flashing with anger.

"Tousan barely remembers to call for his wedding anniversary," Tsuna calmly remarked. "It isn't really that surprising that he doesn't even remember to call for my birthday. Half the time he doesn't even remember Ienari's either."

Reborn's narrowed. He was clearly hearing what Tsuna wasn't saying in his words. "He remembers to call for Ienari more than he remembers to call for you," Reborn said darkly.

"... Yes." Iemitsu was an odd topic for Tsuna. On some level, Tsuna _understood_. He got why Iemitsu choose to throw himself into his work, doing his best to protect his family. He understood, but that did stop the child from inside Tsuna from lashing out, angry at the man who had more or less abandoned them (no matter how good of a reason), for making Nana depressed, for never being the father Ienari and Tsuna _needed_.

On some level, Tsuna still loved the man, but not as, never as, a father, but more like a distant relative. It was enough that Tsuna could acknowledge that they were family, tied by blood and connected in a way that no one will ever be able to sever. It was enough that Tsuna had a few happy memories of Iemitsu.

"That idiota," Reborn grit out.

Tsuna huffed at Reborn's tone. It read as someone who was immensely familiar with Iemitsu's personality, long suffering and clearly done with all this shit.

"It's alright," Tsuna said. "Beside, I got Papa." He looked over to the corner of the living room where Hana and Ryohei were chattering with the rest of the first generation. There was a loud roaring cheer from Knuckle and if spirits could get drunk (Tsuna was actually sure they could), the first generation was well on their way, rosy cheeks and all.

Reborn looked at him sharply. "Giotto is here?"

Tsuna laughed. "He's been here for the last five days. Don't look so alarmed Reborn. I mean you can't see him, so is it really a surprise?"

Reborn looked at him pensively. "Is it something I can learn?" the hitman asked.

Tsuna raised one of his eyebrows. Before he could answer, though, Ayame wandered over to the both of them and handed Reborn a yellow box.

"Take it before I decide against giving you a gift," she practically ordered.

Tsuna switched his attention to her, staring at Ayame incredulously. Given their antagonistic relationship, Tsuna had assumed Ayame wasn't even going to give a gift to Reborn.

The look of distrust on Reborn's face told Tsuna Reborn was thinking the same thing.

"It's not a bomb or a trap," Ayame said defensively. "If you don't want it, I'll take it back. But I'm expecting you to wear it, if you accept it."

Reborn pulled off the cover of the box, revealing a yellow band for his fedora. The hitman looked surprised to receive a gift that was something he would actually use, and not a gag gift.

Tsuna's jaw dropped for an entirely different reason.

"Thank you," Reborn said. He replaced the orange band on his hat with the yellow one.

"You welcome," Ayame said stiffly.

An explosion went off and purple fumes began to fill the room as Shamal got knocked out by one of Bianchi's purple cakes. The doctor fell back, bumping into Dino who tripped (again) and hit Kyoya. Which in turn triggered Kyoya and out came the tonfas. "I will bite you to death," the skylark said, leaping at Dino.

"You might want to save your student," Ayame remarked in a deadpan voice. "Though I think he deserves it."

"Baka-Dino," Reborn said. But the fondness in his voice was evident. The Sun Arcobaleno leapt off the couch and jumped straight into the fray.

Ayame took Reborn's seat as Tsuna continued to stare at her, inquisitive. "Neesan," he started.

"It's fine," Ayame said tensely. She relaxed, shoulders slumping and she resignedly repeated, "It's fine."

"That's not a gift you give to someone you don't like," Tsuna probed. "So why?"

Ayame didn't look him in the eye. Tsuna got the distinct impression that she was _seeing_ , something he couldn't see. Ayame closed her eyes and sighed once more.

"I'm trusting the future," she said quietly.

\---------------------------------------

**Another Celebration**

"Ienari-kun!" Akemi burst into Ienari's hospital with her gift. With this perfect gift Ienari would definitely accept her love.

"So noisy," Koujin said. He tossed a box at Ienari.

"Oh there are already other people here," Inmen said as she walked in a platter of chicken with Mochida who was carrying a sheet of cake.

"Bam! A new bo staff from your best friend," Hachirou said, dumping the staff on Ienari's bed.

"It seems I'm late to the party," Hideki said.

Ienari rolled his eyes, but otherwise grinned. It was great to celebrate his birthday with friends.

\---------------------------------------

**Bad Omen (Cracked)**

It was a quiet autumn morning. The air was crisp and just a little chilled. Ayame pulled her pot of tea off the stove and turned to pour herself a cup of tea.

'Crack!'

Ayame gaped as her gray teacup cracked in half, splitting apart. She despairingly set her pot of tea down and picked up her two cracked halves. With a sigh, Ayame went to grab her stuff.

"All right. Which one of the kids are in trouble this time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dino's been introduced! (I think that's all the characters from the Daily Arc right?) Speaking of which, I didn't use it in the chapter because I wasn't sure, but is **Dino's last name/Famiglia Chiavarone or Cavallone**? I see both in use and the wikia lists Chiavarone but also has a note the original Japanese was Cavallone. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that one of them has a negative meaning. If both are acceptable, which is the more widely popular one? (Also in that same vein is it **why is Yuni sometimes called Uni**?)
> 
> As for Gokudera's trip to the Spirit World, well at this point it isn't important to know what happened in the Spirit World (spoilers) but the knowledge that he went. Haru has joined the craziness that is Tsuna's friends. Ienari is finally coming out of the hospital (oh dear he's been stuck in there for over ten chapters haha). Birthday celebrations all around.
> 
> The Daily Arc is coming to an end. Just a few more things that need to be set up. **Again thank you so much you guys for all the reviews you send in. They give me so much motivation you have no idea. Thank you.**


	15. Mukuro Arc: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
> 
> _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Text Message**

Tsuna blinked as he read the message Ayame had just sent him.

_Will be back in a few days. No worries._

Now, why did Ayame leave so suddenly?

\---------------------------------------

**Yellow Band**

Tsuna walked into his bedroom to find Reborn sitting on the ground examining the yellow band Ayame had given him for his birthday. It was fairly obvious that Reborn's suspicions had finally won out and he was now examining every inch of the band.

Only when Reborn reached to undo the band, did Tsuna speak up. "Neesan will be very disappointed if you stop wearing it."

Reborn gave Tsuna a sharp look. "There isn't a GPS tracker in it?" he asked.

"No." Truth. In fact, Tsuna wasn't even sure if Ayame had bothered tagging Reborn yet (or if she had but failed to do so). Tsuna looked at the yellow hat band and felt the weight of it.

"I know you will, Reborn, but take good care of the gift. Neesan put a lot of work into it," Tsuna said softly. It explained why Ayame had been so subdued leading up to his birthday. Normally she was far more excited by it, but if she was planning on giving such a gift to Reborn (gifts like that Ayame rarely ever gave) Ayame had probably agonized over it for a long time.

It was not just a yellow hat band, but only time would tell if Reborn ever figured that out.

\---------------------------------------

**Planning**

"So…" Hana opened the conversation. "Ienari is out of the hospital."

Tsuna nodded.

"Now what?" Kyoko asked.

"Same as usual? Keep Ienari far away from Tsuna," Takeshi suggested.

The original group of six friends were gathered at Kyoya's house where Tsuna had been sleeping over ever since Ienari's release two days ago. There was no desire on Tsuna's part to run into his twin any sooner than he had to.

"How are things?" Tsuna asked.

"He has not done anything against the children!" Ryohei added. Of the six of them, Ryohei and Kyoko were often the best people to go over to the Sawada Household whenever Tsuna wasn't there. Takeshi and Hana had firmly cemented into Ienari's mind as Tsuna's protectors, with how protective they were of Tsuna whereas Kyoko and Ryohei's gentle airheadedness was written off as harmless. No one could force Kyoya to do anything and the crowding at the Sawada Household was enough to drive the prefect up the wall.

"Though, it's easy to tell he's off centered by all the changes that have been made," Kyoko added with a thoughtful hum. "That's to be expected since it's been over five months since he was hospitalized and the number of people living in the Sawada Household have double and a renovation to the house has been done and everyone's rooms except for his had been shifted."

"I'll have to go home eventually," Tsuna grimaced. "I definitely don't want to leave the kids vulnerable to any of Ienari's temper bursts. Still, with so many people around and with Reborn resuming Ienari's hellish training, I think I'll be okay."

"What did Neesan have to say?" Takeshi asked.

Tsuna shrugged. "Neesan been gone for the last two days. She said she was alright and to just be careful."

"Why did she leave so suddenly?" Hana asked. "Normally she tells us in advance. Or if she does leave suddenly, she's back so soon, it doesn't even register."

Tsuna bit his lip. "I don't know. That's what I don't like." He glanced back to where Kyoya had been leaning against the wall. "Did she say anything to you, Kyoya-sempai?"

"No."

"We'll play it by ear then," Tsuna said. There was nothing else they could do in the meantime.

\---------------------------------------

**Dokuro Chrome**

"Class, we have a new student today. Please welcome Dokuro Chrome," their teacher introduced.

A tiny girl with purple hair and an eyepatch over her right eye stood in the front of the class. Tsuna snapped to attention the minute the girl had entered the room.

"Nagi?" Tsuna whispered, stunned.

\---------------------------------------

**Return**

"Ah Ayame-chan! You're back. You've been gone for almost two weeks."

Ayame gave Nana a watery smile. "Nana-san," Ayame greeted.

"Kaasan," Nana corrected. "Dear, you call yourself Tsuna's Neesan! Call me Kaasan! Or Mama."

Ayame just smiled. Nana pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh sweetheart," Nana said. "What's wrong?"

Ayame buried her head into the crook of Nana's neck and took a deep breath. The smell of a fresh pot of green tea Nana had just brewed and a sugary sweet smell that was simply Nana filled her. Ayame found herself relaxing in Nana's arms.

It spoke of Nana's character that Ayame would reach out like this to her, would trust Nana this much. Ayame didn't have many memories of her own mother and had been on her own for far longer than was probably healthy. Nana was the closest thing she had to a mother figure in… years.

"There's someone you should meet later on," Ayame said. "Though, knowing Tsuna, he'll drag her back here once school is done. She should have been introduced to the class by now."

\---------------------------------------

**After School**

"Nagi!" Tsuna shouted, catching up to the smaller girl. "Ah, I mean Chrome," he said, correcting himself.

Chrome stopped, turning to greet Tsuna. "Tsuna-san," she softly said.

"You're here in Namimori," Tsuna blurted out, still surprised. "I thought, but why? Chrome? Not Nagi?" He stammered out a list of questions, very confused.

Chrome smiled, letting out a quiet giggle. Tsuna was exactly as Chrome remembered him to be. Coming to Namimori was not a hardship at all. Feeling a tint of sadness, Chrome answered his questions. "Ayame-san took legal guardianship of me nearly two weeks ago. She asked if I wanted to change my name as well," Chrome said. "I thought a fresh start would be nice."

Tsuna stilled. "Your parents?" he asked stiffly.

Chrome fell silent.

"I see," Tsuna said, grinding his teeth and eyes flashing orange.

Chrome laid a hand on Tsuna's arm. "It's okay, Tsuna-san. Ayame-san made sure I never have to see them again."

Tsuna deflated. "All right," he conceded. "Well, that explains why Neesan has been missing for two weeks." Then he smiled. "It's good to have you here though."

Chrome smiled. "I'm happy to be here."

\---------------------------------------

**Clash**

All good things must come to an end. Thus, despite the very full household, it was inevitable that at one point or another the twins would end up confronting each other and without anyone nearby. It happened one morning just as Tsuna had exited the bathroom and Ienari had just come down from the stairs.

"Dame-Tsuna," Ienari snarled.

His twin just looked at him with a neutral expression. "Ienari," Tsuna said lightly.

Ienari wasn't stupid. Something had changed while he was stuck in the hospital. His brother had gotten 'braver'. The fear was gone and Tsuna no longer trembled in his presence. All of his hard work to keep Tsuna in line had slipped away. It was going to be a pain to get Tsuna back under his control.

He stalked forward, pleased to note that Tsuna did take a step back. Whatever that energy was that protected Tsuna, it did not stop everything. Ienari couldn't physically touch Tsuna, but he could still throw a lamp at him or something to similar effect. Plus, weak as they were, he now had Dying Will Flames. Something that should counteract whatever that weird energy Tsuna had.

But before Ienari could do anything, Reborn came out of nowhere and kicked him in the stomach. Reborn was always interfering!

"Dame-Ienari," Reborn mocked. "Get up. You still have fifty laps to do before school starts."

"Reborn," Ienari hissed. Why didn't his tutor understand what a monster Tsuna was?!

Ienari yelped as Reborn electrocuted him with a taser. "Get going," his demonic tutor ordered.

Ienari snarled at Tsuna once more, but complied. Going with Reborn's training methods would make him even stronger and the stronger his Flames got the better.

There was no way he was going to leave his mother in the presence of this monster.

\---------------------------------------

**First Meeting**

"Hahi, so you know Chrome-chan from before?" Haru asked.

They had gathered at Lucky Cat Cafe for cake to celebrate Chrome's first week in Namimori. Haru had come from her own school and was introduced to Chrome.

"We met on the Kyoto Spring Trip," Tsuna said with a nod. He cut into his orange sponge cake.

"Tell me how!" Haru asked.

Hayato narrowed his eyes. "I would like to know too."

Takeshi laughed as he tilted his chair back, putting his hands behind his head. "We don't talk about the Kyoto Spring Trip."

"What no!" Haru said. "What's so special about it?"

"Herbivores," Kyoya glared at them.

"The Kyoto Spring Trip is the Kyoto Spring Trip," Hana said, taking a sip of her tea.

"It was very extreme. Perhaps too extreme," Ryohei agreed.

"As a result Tsuna is not allowed to go anywhere by himself," Kyoko said. "Not that he listens to us."

There was a murmur of agreement as Tsuna loudly protested. "It was not my fault!"

"I really want to know what happened," Hayato grumbled, crossing his arms. He had been asking that questions for months now and no one had given him a clear answer yet.

"Please Chrome-chan?" Haru pleaded.

Chrome merely shook her head. "I'm sorry. But Tsuna-san asked me to keep it a secret."

"How bad can it be?" Hayato asked.

Silence fell over the group and everyone in the know stared at Hayato with a deadpan look.

"Hahi, that bad?" Haru asked.

"Yes," they chorused together.

Tsuna took a bite of his cake. "With any luck, we will never find ourselves in that situation again."

\---------------------------------------

**Dinner**

"Ayame-san?" Chrome asked as the brown haired woman ushered her out of their shared apartment.

"Yes?" Ayame asked, locking the door.

"Why are we always going over to Tsuna-san's house for dinner," Chrome asked. "Or… for most meals actually?" In the few weeks that Chrome had been in Namimori, 90% of her meals were eaten at the Sawada Household. Ayame would wake her early in the morning before school to take her to have breakfast with Tsuna.

Ayame paused. "Well… for starters. I can't really cook, unless you want to be eating udon every night. Two…" she trailed off, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Two… I acknowledge that I'm not the best role model you could have, including the fact that I'm a bit socially inept. While the Sawada Household is not… normal by any means, they are the best example I have of what family is suppose to be. You… deserve that much."

Chrome's single violet eye widened. She bowed her head. Ayame was doing so much for her. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You welcome," Ayame said. "Now c'mon. Nana-san said she was going to make okonomiyaki tonight."

\---------------------------------------

**Social Visit**

"Do you want some tea, Alaude-san?" Kyoko offered to the blond haired spirit.

"Hn," Alaude said, taking a seat.

The rest of the afternoon passed in comfortable silence.

\---------------------------------------

**Sleep**

Giotto looked down at his son with a fond smile. Tsuna was fast asleep, relaxed and without a care in the world. He looked so much younger than he really was when he was asleep. Giotto's smile spread a little bit wider at the sight of Reborn snuggled against Tsuna's side; the hitman's tiny head using Tsuna's arm as a pillow.

When Ienari had come out of the hospital, Giotto had expected that Reborn would have moved back into his student's bedroom. That didn't happen and more than often, Reborn could be found in Tsuna's bed. (And to Giotto's surprise, Ienari was under the assumption that Reborn was sleeping in one of the other new bedrooms.) It was cute.

Soundlessly, Giotto left the room, leaving the two to their sleep.

The light on the kitchen alerted him that someone was still awake at this early hour. To no surprise, Ayame was shuffling through papers and jotting down notes at the dining table.

"You should be asleep," Giotto scolded.

"Later," Ayame said. "End of the year deadlines are approaching and I need to get this done."

Giotto peered out the window. It had began to snow just a few hours ago. It wasn't cold enough for it to stay on the ground, melting shortly after falling from the sky. Winter was approaching. It would be December in just a few days.

"Where's Chrome?" Giotto asked, changing the subject. Getting Ayame to sleep was a fruitless effort in itself. She would crash eventually.

"Asleep in the guest bedroom," Ayame said. "I didn't see any point in waking her to go back to our apartment."

"I think she can see me," Giotto said. Chrome, in the many times she was over, had often thrown glances his way, unsure of what she was seeing.

"She can," Ayame confirmed. "That's what being on Death's Door will do to a person."

"She died?!" Giotto yelped, alarmed at Ayame's words.

"Shit," Ayame swore, closing her eyes. "Okay, maybe I do need sleep. But no, she did not die, just came very close to it. That's how she lost her eye. Don't mention it to Tsuna. Chrome doesn't want them to know about her accident."

Giotto snapped his mouth shut and let Ayame clean up her papers.

As she finished, Giotto said, "If you're gonna crash on Tsuna's bed, Reborn already beat you to it."

He watched as Ayame bristled and gnashed her teeth. "Why don't you like Reborn?" Giotto asked, curious. "Have you met him before?"

Ayame let out a tired, resigned sigh. "No. It's just…" she trailed off, looking off in the distance.

"Ayame?" Giotto asked, concerned.

She shook her head. "Good night Giotto."

Giotto didn't say anything and let her go. "Good night Ayame."

\---------------------------------------

**Earrings**

"Happy Birthday Chrome-chan," Ayame said, pressing a small box into Chrome's hand.

Chrome gaped at her. "You didn't have to," she said. She hadn't expected any sort of gift from Ayame. Ayame kept doing so much for her.

Ayame waved her concerns off. "Open it," she instructed.

Chrome opened the black box. Sitting on a tiny red cushion was a pair of silver earrings. "This looks expensive," Chrome said distressed. How could Ayame keep spending all this money on her?

"Not in the way you think," Ayame said. "It didn't really cost me that much, but they are the only ones in the world like that. So take care of them, okay?"

Chrome wordlessly nodded, putting on her new pair of earrings.

"All right, up," Ayame said, ushering her towards her bedroom. "Everyone will be here any minute now and you're not ready to go yet."

"Go?"

Ayame looked at her, eyebrow raised. "It's your birthday. It stands to reason we would be celebrating it."

"But…" Chrome said, bewildered. Normally her birthday was celebrated without any fussed, barely acknowledge at all. Practically nothing different compared to any other day.

"No buts," Ayame said firmly. "Birthdays only come once a year. Dress warmly. If I understood the girls correctly, ice skating is on the list."

"I've never gone ice skating before," Chrome said, still reeling from the shock that her birthday was being celebrated like this.

"Neither have I, but it can't be that hard. Not according to the books I read," Ayame shrugged.

"Doesn't… everyone have better things to do?" Chrome asked.

"Nope. The most important thing is that it's your birthday," Ayame said.

Chrome just looked at her in wonder. It was a novel idea that people wanted to celebrate, like an actual party from the sounds of it, her birthday. She bowed her head, turning a bright red. Chrome had no idea how she was ever going to repay everyone for all that they did.

Ayame rested a hand on Chrome's head. "Just have fun today, okay?"

Chrome smiled. "Okay."  
\---------------------------------------

**Ringing in the New Year**

Everyone was gathered on the snowy hillside, bundled up warmly. Cups of tea were passed around, the small curl of steam twisting into the air. The night sky was clear, the air crisp and cold.

Silence.

Then a whistling sound as a light shot upwards piercing the sky. In a thundering boom, a shower of red sparkles blossomed above. The first firework had been lit. Suddenly the sky was lit, changing colors and painting beautiful pictures.

Bells tolled in the distance, ringing in the new year.

Tsuna bumped Ayame's shoulder. "Happy Birthday Neesan," Tsuna said softly.

Ayame hid her smile in the new navy blue scarf Tsuna had given her. "Thank you Tsuna."

\---------------------------------------

**Chaotic Spring**

"I've been meaning to ask," Shoichi said. "Is it always this chaotic?"

Tsuna looked at the scene that Shoichi was observing. There were a few holes in the ground and at least one toppled Sakura tree. Something of Bianchi's was giving off purple smoke and there were more than a few unconscious bodies (Shamal, Lambo, Ryohei and poor Chrome) laying around. The sound was filled with gunshots (Reborn), bombs (Hayato), and metal clashing against metal (Takeshi and Kyoya no doubt). Ayame was giving Dino a verbal beatdown, covered in rice and soy sauce. Tsuna made a mental note to intervene and save Dino before Ayame decided killing him was an option again.

Turning back to Shoichi, who was clutching his stomach and looking nauseated, Tsuna answered, "Yes."

Paling, Shoichi made a strangled sound. "I suppose it's too late to run away."

"Pretty much."

"Damn."

\---------------------------------------

**Graduation**

"We've survived another year," Takeshi said. His hands were clasped behind his head as he laughed lightly.

It was that time of year again. The third years were on their way to high school and everyone else moved up a year. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, a cheerful note of celebration.

"It's a shame that Nezu-sensei will be moving up with us," Hana said dryly. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"We're never going to be rid of him, are we?" Tsuna said miserably. He let out a heavy sigh.

"It's strange that school board blocked both Kyoya-sempai and Neesan about removing him," Kyoko mused. She rested her chin on hands, placing her elbows on her desk.

"Sometimes," Tsuna lamented, "I regret telling them both that killing Nezu-sensei isn't an option."

Silence descended upon the group before Takeshi tentatively said, "Well… I'm sure if we ask really nicely, Reborn-san will teach us how to hide bodies."

"Takeshi!" Kyoko said.

"We're not sinking that low," Tsuna protested.

"Wishful thinking," Hana said. "Besides, we can't afford Reborn-san. Bomber monkey probably knows how to though."

"Hana!"

\---------------------------------------

**Escape**

"Rokudo Mukuro has escaped from the Vindice," Ayame said, handing Tsuna a tan folder.

"This is cause for concern why?" Tsuna asked, accepting the folder and flipping through it.

"Neesan?" Tsuna questioned, when Ayame didn't answer him, focusing on Tsuna's hands.

Ayame blinked. "Ah, no particular reason. Mostly because rumors said he is in Japan for a shot at the Decimo candidate."

Well given that Ienari and him were identical twins, Tsuna could see why she was concerned. All it took was for Rokudo to mix Ienari and him up. Ayame got twitchy when people targeted him. Still… "Neesan? Are you alright? You've been acting weird since around the time Chrome came to live with you," Tsuna asked. "Why is Rokudo a concern for you? The wards should prevent him from entering Namimori because of intent to harm right?"

He watched patiently as Ayame struggled to form her explanation. He was at a lost as to why she was like this. There was something stressing her out and the last time he saw her like this it was in the weeks before Reborn's arrival, but even then it wasn't that bad. However, Tsuna couldn't do anything if she didn't tell him anything about it.

"It's nothing," Ayame said.

'Lie,' Tsuna's Hyper Intuition pointed out to him.

"It's nothing," Ayame repeated. "Nothing you or I can do. Nothing except to wait and watch."

"Neesan," Tsuna started.

She shook her head. "I'm not a seer, you know that. But… something's coming, a wave, a change. While I know your sensitivity to the Spiritual Plane is improving every day, surely you've noticed the unease that has begun to settle over the town. Things have grown quiet."

Tsuna had noticed. There was always that taint of anger that lingered over the town, but lately there a whiffle of depression that seemed to have blown into the town. A chill that couldn't be attributed to the last remnants of winter. Something ominous was approaching. The quiet was simply the calm before a storm.

"I think," Ayame said with a small resigned smile, "I think you're going to be faced with a decision and knowing who you are, I know what you're going to choose. For better or worse, it's going to change the playing field we've been on for the past year."

"Should I choose the opposite then?" Tsuna asked, worried.

Ayame chuckled. "No. No. Don't ever change who you are just because things will become difficult as a result of it. Just… be careful okay?"

Tsuna nodded. "I will."

\---------------------------------------

**Stolen**

Fuuta sat at the park reading his red ranking book. He enjoyed looking over some his old rankings, noting which ones needed to be updated and enjoying the shuffling of the ones that had changed. Nothing after all was concrete. People live and die, tastes and fads change, time passed and the world turned. What was ranked number one a month ago might no longer be the case now. It was fascinating to see the difference.

"Fuuta!" I-pin called, waving to him. "Come play!"

Fuuta smiled and put his book down, running over the Chinese girl whom he was rapidly beginning to see as a little sister. It was a testament to how relaxed Fuuta had become in the months he had come to live in Namimori that he hadn't remembered to put away his ranking book in his pocket.

He wouldn't notice until much later that night when he dragged a worried Tsuna outside to help him look for it after dinner. After a bit of searching by flashlight, they had found the book and returned home, never once thinking about the consequences.

The large red book that contained so much precious information, information people had bled, killed, and bribed for had been left unattended for hours. No one had noticed the shadow that had descended upon the book after Fuuta had left it behind nor would Fuuta notice until weeks later that one of his pages had been removed.

\---------------------------------------

**The Countdown Begins**

Kaori skipped down the street; her black hair in a ponytail bouncing as she walked. With a basket of food in her hands, Kaori smiled and wondered how she could convince Ienari to eat her food today. The object of her affections was always shying away from it! Kaori didn't know why. It wasn't like her food tasted bad. Well, most of the time, but those were probably flukes.

Her purple eyes narrowed. Though, Ienari's refusal to eat her food probably had to do with Inmen's presence. The conniving wench had her precious Ienari wrapped around her finger!

A dark shadow fell over her. Kaori turned around to see a teenage boy her age with spiky blond hair and a scar over his nose standing behind her. He was dressed in a green Kokuyo uniform.

"Strange to see some pretty girls on the lists, byon," the teenager said. He popped a set of teeth into his mouth. "Kong Channel."

Kaori leap back, throwing one of her cupcakes at the guy. With a swipe, the teenager knocked the cupcake to the ground only to get shocked.

"What did you do?" the teenager hissed, cradling his hand.

"I cook," Kaori said. It was a strange side effect she had noticed through her cooking. A wide variety of different types of effects happened for certain foods. Yellow cake cupcakes caused paralysis for example. Where as a cinnamon muffin would cause a smoke screen and chocolate chip cookies cause an increase of speed. She had intended to use those three things to kidnap her Ienari.

Kaori bit into a chocolate chip cookie and darted away. Her strange cooking powers aside, she knew she was no match for this thug. She threw the cinnamon muffin to the group, a cloud of smoke appearing, before turning to run.

She didn't get far before a fist slammed into her stomach, knocking her out.

"Cheetah Channel, byon. You're not getting away that easily."

\---------------------------------------

**Rolling Mist**

A chill descended upon Namimori. Something dangerous lurked in the shadows and even the civilians, normally nothing more than unaware sheep, felt the growing tension. Then the attacks started.

Members of the DC were attacked, landing in the hospital with injuries. The first attack had been against Akemi Kaori, an attack that didn't fit the pattern. Kyoya lashed out, angry and prowling while the rest of the group hovered at the edges, worried and concerned. The members of the DC weren't friends in the same way Kyoya was, but they were comrades more or less. They didn't let Ienari or anyone get away with bullying Tsuna, but still distant.

Kusakabe Tetsuya as Kyoya's second in command was probably the only exception (beside Kyoya himself). He was fond friend, perhaps not as close as Kyoya was, but nevertheless it was understood early on that Kyoya and Tetsuya were a packaged deal.

Naturally, none of them took it well when Kyoya informed them that Tetsuya was in the hospital.

"Are you alright Tetsuya-sempai?" Tsuna asked, concerned. He placed the fruit basket on the table next to Tetsuya's bed.

"Yes, thank you Tsuna-san," Tetsuya said. "While I was injured, it was not as badly as the others. How is Kyoya handling the issue?"

Tsuna bit his lip, nervously. "He's quite upset. Of course he doesn't look like it, but being unable to find the culprit is making him cagey."

"Ah," Tetsuya said in understanding.

Before the conversation could continue, a commotion was raised outside. "What's going out there?" Tsuna asked, standing up to look out the door.

Outside, EMTs rushed in with another gurney. "He's losing blood fast!" one of the EMTs shouted, holding up an IV bag. "Hey! Where can I put this kid?!"

Tsuna's eyes widened as he recognized the person strapped down. Countless puncture wounds were bleeding out, staining the normal pale yellow and white Namimori Middle School uniform a dark red. A face contorted in deep pain, twisting in agony and labored breathing.

"Matsushita Hachirou," Tsuna said, stunned. Ienari's best friend. He had been attacked; his wounds consisted with one of three different attackers who had been plaguing Namimori.

"Matsushita-san is the Captain of the Judo Club," Tetsuya said. "He's decently strong. Perhaps not as strong as Kyoya or even Ienari-san, but he is one of the stronger students at Namimori Middle."

"It's like a countdown," Tsuna said softly. "I do not like this."

"Be careful Tsuna-san. If they're targeting strong fighters at Namimori, they will eventually come after you," Tetsuya said.

A dark look crossed Tsuna's face. "I'm more worried that they'll attack my friends first before getting to me."

This was not good.

\---------------------------------------

**A Storm Falls**

Kensuke felt a chill go down his spine. He drew his shinai out of its bag, assuming a readied position.

"Who's there?" he shouted.

Kensuke didn't get a chance to do anything before a heavy metal ball came rushing toward him, crashing into him. He was knocked back, slamming into the brick wall. His shinai shattered, nothing but a flimsy defense. Kensuke dropped to his knees, falling face down towards the ground.

\---------------------------------------

**A Rain Bleeds**

Hisen whipped out her iron fan and deflected the rain of needle that fell upon her. She jumped back, flicking her fan open all the way. Ocean blue eyes surveyed the surroundings, looking for her attacker.

A red yoyo came hurling at her. Hisen knocked it away, only to get caught in another yoyo's strings. She winced as it tightened around her, cutting through her clothes. Hisen flicked her wrist, letting her iron fan severed through the strings.

She fell to the ground, gasping for breath and flinching at her new wounds. Before she could recover, another rain of needles appeared above her.

Hisen looked up in horror as they began to fall.

\---------------------------------------

**Hospital**

"Inmen-chan!"

Ienari burst into Inmen's hospital room. The older girl was still unconscious, the steady beeps of the EKG machine filling the room. Ienari let out a despondent sound at the prone form of Inmen. He looked further to see Mochida was in the same room as his cousin and equally unconscious. Both were badly injured, multiple broken bones and heavy blood loss.

Grinding his teeth, Ienari clenched his fist, tight enough to draw blood. "Who did this?" he hissed. First Hachirou got attacked now Inmen and Mochida. Ienari heard Kaori and a bunch of DC members had also been injured.

"This not the first time a Namimori Student has been attacked," Reborn said, jumping off of Ienari's shoulder.

Ienari whirled towards his tutor. "Do you know who is behind this?"

Reborn pulled his fedora down. "Not yet."  
\---------------------------------------

**Ominous Signal**

"Where is Ayame?" Reborn asked Tsuna.

Ienari had decided to remain in the hospital, worried about his friends. Reborn had returned to the Sawada Household to find a distraught looking Chrome and a pacing, fretting Tsuna.

Tsuna looked up, eyes flashing orange. Reborn looked at him alarmed, wondering why Tsuna's Hyper Intuition was working up now.

"Neesan left for a business trip this morning," Tsuna said. "Chrome is staying with us until she gets back. Bad timing. Very bad timing." Tsuna increased his pace. "Something's wrong."

Reborn could only agree. He had heard the rumors of escaped prisoners from Vindice. The fact that they escaped alone made them dangerous. The fact that they were here in Japan, undoubtedly targeting Ienari made it even worse. Fon had agreed to watch over Ienari at the hospital while Reborn went to confirm his information. That was why he was seeking out Ayame. She was easily the best way to confirm if Rokudo Mukuro was behind these attacks. Perhaps she even had a picture of what he looked like because there were no pictures of Rokudo.

As far as Reborn could tell, they were targeting Namimori Middle School students. Easily from weakest to strongest. Perhaps they didn't know who or which twin was the Decimo Candidate or perhaps it was just an elaborate trap. Knowing Ienari, if Reborn had told him about Rokudo, the boy would have flown into a rage and would have sought Rokudo for revenge.

Ienari was no match for Rokudo at his current level.

Tsuna paused mid-stepped, paling. "Hayato and Hana," he said.

"Tsuna-san?" Chrome asked, tentatively.

"I think Hayato and Hana are the next targets," Tsuna said.

Reborn didn't even think about, jumping onto Tsuna's shoulder as Tsuna darted out of the house with Chrome trailing after him.

\---------------------------------------

**Number 7**

Hayato scowled as a beanie wearing teenager stepped in front of him.

The teen pushed his glasses up his nose, lightly touching the barcode tattoo on his face. "Number 7 on the list," the teen said.

Hayato dropped his bag, reaching for his dynamite. This kid was bad news. It would be best not to be caught off guard.

A rain of needles began to fall.

\---------------------------------------

**Number 6**

Hana was walking towards Kyoko and Ryohei's house, minding her own business. She stopped, as a blond teenager blocked her walkway.

She touched her flower shape pendant necklace as an uneasy smile spread across her face. "Who are you?" she asked, feeling a sense of danger.

"Found you, byon. Number 6," the teenager said. He held out an animal teeth cartridge in his hand.

"You're one of the monkeys attacking people," Hana concluded.

"Got that right," the teenager said. "Lion Channel."

Hana grimaced as the teenager shifted, taking on characteristic similar to a lion. "No way out of it huh?" she mumbled to herself. "Very well. Weapon Form."

There was a flash of light as a red naginata appeared in Hana's hands. The long, sharp blade glistened in the light before Storm Flames burst to life around it. Pointing her naginata at her opponent, flames flickering, Hana had only one thing to say.

"Bring it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have hit the Mukuro Arc! \ o / -cheers- and Chrome has shown up. 8D Thank you to everyone who answered my questions last chapter. Happy Birthday Tsuna \ o / -rushing to finish this chapter haha-
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes:**  
> [Naginata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naginata)  
>  Kaori's Cooking Ability is not Binachi's Poison Cooking. Rather it's more like a Saboteur/Green Mage type. It does buffs/debuffs only.


	16. Mukuro Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
> 
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Rescue**

"Che," Hayato scoffed. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he grimaced. It hurt to move his right leg; it had been clipped after by one of the needles. The ground was littered with his unlit dynamite, the fuses having been cut by the yoyo's wire.

"Troublesome," the teen muttered.

That should be Hayato's word!

The red yoyo's came flying at Hayato. He forced himself to move, rolling away as they smashed into the ground. His arms came up, ready to block the barrage of needles that the yoyos would unleash.

It never came.

Instead, a large black wolf leapt the teenager, distracting him. It passed through him, an illusion, but it was enough a distraction. A flash of orange was the only warning the teenager got before Tsuna came barreling out of nowhere, punching the teen in the stomach and sending him flying.

"Hayato!" Tsuna said, glancing back at his friend. His Dying Will Flames were lit, dancing on his forehead and fists. Reborn, sitting on Tsuna's shoulder, watched for the sign of the Kokuyo kid. Leon in gun form, aimed toward the yoyo user.

"Are you alright?" Chrome asked, helping Hayato up.

Hayato on the other hand, gaped. He gestured to the black wolf that dissipated into a burst of indigo colored flames and asked, "Is that Mist Flames?"

Chrome interlaced her fingers together, fretting. "Yes?" she said timidly.

"Does everyone, but me know how to use Dying Will Flames?" Hayato shouted.

Chrome bit her lip, hesitating. "I don't think Miura-san knows how?"

"That doesn't make me feel better!" Hayato snapped. He lamented over the fact that everyone, including turf-top head and the baseball idiot knew how to use Flames. Why hadn't anyone told him before? The gap between them just continued to grow wider and wider and Hayato feared they were going to leave him behind.

"More people," the teenager said, causing everyone to focus back on him.

"Kakimoto Chikusa," Tsuna said, pinning the yoyo user with his orange tinted eyes.

"Oh? You know who I am?" Chikusa said.

"You, Joshima Ken, and Rokudo Mukuro escaped from the Vindice and their inescapable prison, Vendicare," Tsuna said.

"And you are Vongola Decimo," Chikusa said.

Tsuna shook his head. "No. I'm afraid you're mixing me up with the real candidate." He settled into a readied stand, orange flames flickering brighter. "But you will face me if you attack my friends again."

Chikusa stared calmly at him; his face not betraying a single emotion. He seemed to have come to a decision. "I will retreat. My orders were not to fight against Vongola Decimo. Mukuro-sama will be the one to face you."

He darted away, turning the corner and vanishing from sight.

"Did Ayame tell you about him?" Reborn asked Tsuna, once he was sure that Chikusa wasn't going to come back.

Tsuna nodded. "She mentioned that Rokudo Mukuro had escaped from the Vindice. I took the information, but didn't know why she was giving it to me. But that's Neesan's paranoia for you. If there was even the slightest chance of them showing up in Namimori, she would have passed that information along."

Reborn scoffed. "She couldn't pass the information to me?"

Tsuna shrugged. "I don't always understand why Neesan does what she does." He looked over to Hayato and Chrome. "We have to find Hana. I still have this bad feeling."

Hayato and Chrome nodded in understanding and four of them took off in search of Hana.

\---------------------------------------

**Earthquake**

"Kong Channel!"

Hana parried the swinging fists with her naginata. She slashed downward, her Storm Flames carving out a deep trench in the ground. "Hajikeru Honoo!"

Her opponent jumped out of the way, switching to another set of teeth to dart away to safety. "Wolf Channel!" He looked at the razed ground. "You're pretty good, I'll admit."

"Joshima Ken," Hana said. Age 14. Your abilities change based off the teeth you have and it's been recorded that you have at least seven different types of teeth. You're also a Locked Sun Flame user."

Ken let out a low whistle. "Someone has done her research."

"In this town, it's be aware of the dangers or get swept away," Hana said, eyes narrowed. She widened her stance. "I know this much. Your Kong Channel is nothing against Ryohei's punches or even Kyoya's overwhelming power."

Ken snarled. "We'll see about that!" He burst toward her, slashing at her with his claws.

Hana spun her naginata, defending against them. The sound of sharpened claws hitting against the metal pole of the naginata filled the air. Pushing forward, she knocked him off balance, twisting her naginata into a single jab forward. Her blade pierced Ken's left shoulder.

Unwilling to let the opportunity to go, Ken grit through the pain and grabbed hold of the naginata, holding it in place. He swung his claws down towards Hana's now unprotected right side. The attack would have connected if there wasn't a flare of Storm Flames.

Ken jumped back, howling in pain as the Storm Flames engulfed his hand, disintegrating his skin. It blistered and boiled, burning as it ate away at the skin. "You bitch," he swore.

"Beni Arashi Koromo," Hana said as Storm Flames flickered around her, much like a grand red cape. "As if I would leave myself defenseless like that."

"Cheetah Channel!" Ken shouted, jumping towards her at an even greater speed than before.

He didn't get very far before a wall of dirt and rock rose from the ground before him, slamming straight into it.

Dazed, and blood dripping from his head and mouth, Ken stared at the wall. "That's not something Storm Flames can do," he said.

"Doryuuheki," Hana said from the other side of the wall, tapping the ground with her naginata. She didn't want to have to reveal that trick, but that idiot's speed was going to be an issue. Hana was not the faster of the group. In fact, her relatively low pain threshold made close combat tricky and she knew, fundamentally, eight of ten times, she would always be the first to fall in any battle, especially without backup.

It would be her best bet to retreat now and warn Tsuna and the others. Or if she could at least make it the last couple blocks to Kyoko and Ryohei's house.

The sound of chains clinking was her own only warring as she turned to see a large metal sphere headed straight at her. It sent her flying into her earth wall, punching through it like paper. She rolled on the ground, some distance away and kicking up a cloud of dirt as she slid to a stop. Her naginata vanished, shattering into pieces.

She stared, vision blurring at a tall man with spiky black hair and two black spike tattoos on his cheek. He whirled the large metal ball, spinning it faster and faster, before launching it up into the sky. Hana struggled to move, seeing the dark shadow of the ball appear above her. At that height and weight, the ball would kill her.

As her body failed to respond, she watched in growing horror as the heavy sphere fell from the sky. Hana clenched her teeth as another wave of pain rocked her senses. 'I guess this is it,' she thought, vision growing dark. 'Sorry guys.'

\---------------------------------------

**Broken Cup**

-In the Spirit World-

"Shit!"

Ugetsu looked up to see G's front was now drenched; the pieces of his cup scattered on the ground.

"Did you drop your cup?" the rain guardian asked, mildly. It wouldn't be the first time, but it was rare to do so.

"No!" G said, scowling. "It just shattered in my hand."

From over at the leather couch where he was lounging on, Giotto called out, "Ayame's does that all the time too. Well, not shatter, but it often cracks or splits apart."

"Really?" Ugetsu said. "Why?"

Giotto shrugged. "I asked once. She said broken cups are often a bad omen. Hers tend to break whenever Tsuna gets into trou…" he trailed off looking pale.

G didn't look any better.

"The kids," Giotto and G chorused together.

G cursed, heading straight for the portal. "Oh no they don't. The first time I take on a student in 400 years, if they touch one hair on Hana's head, I will shove a mouthful of storm arrows down their throat," he snarled.

"Wait for us," Giotto and Ugetsu said, following out after him.

\---------------------------------------

**Drowned Sorrows**

"Omnivore," Koumei said.

Ayame flicked a glance at him. "Koumei-san," she said neutrally.

They stared at each other. "I don't even want to know why you're here, Omnivore" Koumei finally said. If she was here for business, things would go relatively smoothly. If she was here for _business_ , Koumei was better off heading back to the main headquarters and calling his case a lost cause. Koumei didn't even want to be in this thrice damn country.

Ayame snorted and signaled for another drink. "I can't believe your son picked up on your habit of addressing people by their animal kingdom classification," she said. Upon receiving her drink, she swirled the glass, the dark amber liquid spinning.

Koumei took a seat next to her at the bar. "Should I be concerned that you are drinking?"

Ayame mischievously smiled at him. "I meet the legal drinking age here, Koumei-san. Nothing you can arrest me for."

Koumei snorted at that. There was little point in arresting the Omnivore. What was the point if she would walk away free minutes later? Dangerous, dangerous, this young woman next to him. It was an immensely good thing that Koumei was on her good side.

"The Triad?" he asked. It wasn't often they actually met face to face. It would be good to get onto the same page of details of what was going on back in Namimori. Who knew what Kyoya wasn't saying in his phone calls?

"All quiet on their end," Ayame said. "Fon-san's appearance, surprisingly did not rock the waters. Then again, after what Fon-san did for Yun-san, it's no surprise that the Triads are giving him free range to train his apprentice. And if the place they're training just so happen to have his nephew, well. They're observing for now."

Koumei understood that. It was… brilliant and awe-inspiring and very Hibari-like what Fon had done to the Triad to assure Yun's ability to live in Namimori. It was proof that his brother in law had deserved to be one of the I Prescelti Sette. It was a shame that Fon couldn't guarantee her absolute freedom, but both Yun and he had others to think about.

"Do you ever intend to wipe them out? The rest of the Clan is more than willing to help," Koumei stated. His bloodlust leaked into his words. There was nothing more than Koumei wanted to do then to be rid of this particular evil for the grievances against his wife, his son, and his brother-in-law.

"Well, yes. Depends on Vongola's next move, I suppose," Ayame said.

"And what is their next move?" Koumei asked.

"Don't know," Ayame said, draining her glass in a single gulp. "That's the scary part no?"

\---------------------------------------

****Converging Attacks** **

"Maximum Punch!"

Ryohei arrived on the scene, unleashing one of his stronger attacks. The attack was simple in design and theory. Concentrating his Sun Flames, he activated the nerves within his arm, sending his nerves into overdrive, increasing their electrical impulses and thus generating energy. Under normal circumstances, the human body generated roughly 100 millivolts. However, with the Sun Flames' Activation characteristic, it increased by 1000. This increased the generated voltage of the human body to over 100 volts.

Secondly, the boost of speed meant Ryohei was throwing his punches, faster than the speed of sound. The punch created a sonic boom, laced with the excess electricity generated by Ryohei's nerves. A more adept name would probably have been Lightning Punch, but no one ever said Ryohei was accurate with his names.

The force of the collided with the black haired man, knocking him and his steel ball off course. A slip of paper fell out of his pocket. Ryohei rushed over, scooping Hana up and checking over her.

"Monkey Channel!"

Ryohei turned around, readied to attack. The blond haired in the Kokuyo uniform didn't get very far before he intercepted.

"Shajiku no Ame!" Takeshi appeared out of nowhere, charging forward and coated in Rain Flames. He thrust his sword forward, nicking the side of the blond who twisted out of the way just in time.

Meanwhile the black haired one was back on his feet, swinging his steel ball. He launched it at Takeshi. "Senja Reppa."

"Sakamaku Ame," Takeshi shouted, bringing his sword vertically in front of him to defend. His Flames burst into life, creating waves that surrounded Takeshi.

The steel ball crashed into Takeshi. Takeshi held his position, even as he was pushed back by the sheer force of the steel ball. His arms trembled from the shocks, muscle straining.

"Takeshi!"

Tsuna burst onto the scene, ramming into the blond in a trail of orange flames, flinging him at the black haired. Hayato followed suit, throwing bombs at them while Chrome with Reborn on her shoulder ran over to help Ryohei.

Before Hayato's bombs went off, they were intercepted by a pair of red yoyos. The bombs fell to the ground, fuses sliced.

"Not again!" Hayato groaned.

"Joshima Ken," Tsuna mumbled. "And Northern Italy's Strongest Man, Lancia."

"So you know who we are, byon," Ken said.

"The Decimo Candidate," Chikusa said.

Lancia was silent, staring at them with dark eyes.

Before the three could launch another wave of attacks, a dark shadow descended over them.

"I will bite you to death."

The three scattered as Kyoya arrived on the scene, tonfas out, dropping from the building above, like an avenging angel. He swiped at Lancia, pushing the man back several feet.

"We should retreat," Chikusa said. "There are too many of them and Ken is already injured."

His red yoyos flickered into the air, launching over a 1000 needles into the air. Tsuna fired his Flames upward, covering his friends in a dome of orange Flames. The needles collided with the dome, setting off a chain of explosions that rocked Tsuna's shield. Tsuna grit his teeth, holding the Flames up.

Once they stopped, Tsuna let his Flames die away, revealing the three Kokuyo students had disappeared in the confusion.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Kyoya growled, turning to look at Tsuna. His eyes narrowed in disdain. "Explain now."

"Hiiieee…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize the shortness of this chapter. Fight scenes wear me out really fast. But on the bright side, you got a faster update? I fear all of Mukuro Arc chapters will be like this. That may be a good thing. I also apologize if I haven't responded to your review yet. Things have been super crazy over here.
> 
>   **Biliugal Bonus**  
>  Hajikeru Honoo – Flame Burst  
> Beni Arashi Koromo – Crimson Storm Cloak  
> Doryuuheki – Earth Style Wall


	17. Mukuro Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
> 
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Namimori Middle School Strongest**

Reborn picked up the piece of paper that had been fluttering on the ground as he half listened to what Tsuna was explaining to his friends. Tsuna had already given Chrome an overview as they had searched for Gokudera so the information wasn't new. To simply summarize, Ayame had informed him that Rokudo Mukuro had come to Japan along with a group of subordinates, searching for Vongola Decimo. Said group of subordinates were the three that had just attacked, Joshima Ken, Kakimoto Chikusa, and Strongest Man in Northern Italy, Lancia. Tsuna had only managed to deliver the information to Hana and was in the process of calling Hibari when his Hyper Intuition kicked into overdrive with worry over Hayato and Hana.

He unfolded the list, taking note of the title. It looked like one of Fuuta's ranking, the paper and handwriting being a match to similar notes in Fuuta's Ranking Book.

_Namimori Middle School Strongest Fighters_

1\. Sasagawa Kyoko

2\. Hibari Kyoya

3\. Sawada Tsunayoshi

4\. Yamamoto Takeshi

5\. Sasagawa Ryohei

6\. Kurokawa Hana

7\. Gokudera Hayato

8\. Sawada Ienari

And so forth

So Ienari didn't even make the top five. Gokudera's street fighting experience was what placed him higher than Ienari and if Tsuna and Ryohei had active Flames, it would not be a far stretch that the rest of them had active Flames as well. Then Reborn's brain skidded to a halt, and his eyes snapped back to number one. Sasagawa Kyoko was the strongest fighter in Namimori Middle?!

While Reborn knew women could be equally dangerous in the mafia, look at Bianchi, he was having trouble trying to picture soft spoken and gentle Kyoko was the strongest fighter in Namimori Middle. For goodness sake, she beat out Hibari! Hibari! Then again, Luce was part of the I Prescelti Sette and that was not just limited to her ability to see the future. Oh sure, that was the main reason and Luce preferred peace talks over violence, but Reborn had seen her actually get angry once, -it involved a child- and the end result was nasty. Still Kyoko of all people. And Namimori was suppose to be filled with civilians. Reborn made a note to talk to Nono about his spies, they were so off target about Namimori wasn't even funny.

Reborn eyed the piece of paper suspiciously. Perhaps Fuuta had made the ranking while it had been raining? Over the last months Fuuta had stayed in the Sawada Household, that particular flaw had been revealed to Reborn.

"So what now Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.

Tsuna pondered it briefly. "I think we should strike preemptively. I mean, it's pretty clear that they're attacking us in some sort of order of strength."

Reborn cut in then. "They appear to be following this list," he said, holding out the piece of paper.

Tsuna took the sheet, reading over it. "This looks like one of Fuuta's ranking."

"The baseball idiot ranks higher than me?!" Gokudera howled.

"I'm not on the list," Chrome said depressed.

"I remember this ranking. It's months old. You hadn't met Fuuta yet, Chrome. That's why you're not on here," Tsuna said. He frowned. "At least, this tells us why they were attacking in the order they were attacking."

"Wait," Gokudera cut in again. "Why is Kyoko ranked number 1?" He looked over at Hibari with a tint of amusement. "You mean she's stronger than Skylark here?"

A bloodthirsty smile spread across Hibari's face. "She is very good. I'm more than willing to admit that she's a carnivore," Hibari said.

Reborn stared. Wait, wait. It was his understanding that to Hibari, omnivores were people who could fight, but preferred not to, like Tsuna. Carnivores on the other hand, were people who love to, thrived to fight. To call Kyoko a carnivore… THIS WAS SASAGAWA KYOKO! The girl who loves cake, was nice to everyone, smiled brightly and there wasn't even a tint of bloodlust that could be felt from her. Were they really talking about the same Sasagawa Kyoko?!

"How's Hana, Oniisan?" Tsuna asked, looking over to Ryohei and Hana.

Ryohei looked up at Tsuna from where he was crouched on the ground. His hands flickered with bright yellow Sun Flames, coating the still unconscious Hana. "She appears to be stable," Ryohei said. "But I extremely suggest she still see a real doctor."

"Shamal will be the best. He has experience with Flames and the people who have been going around attacking," Tsuna said. "Can you get to him without any trouble?"

Ryohei nodded. "Yes. He was actually at my house discussing my next lesson before I ran out here to grab Kyoko something from the market for tonight's dinner."

"Good," Tsuna said, nodding in understanding. "The rest of us will focus on stopping Mukuro and his gang. I don't want to the rest of us getting ambushed like Hana was."

"Should I send Kyoko?" Ryohei said.

"NO!"

Tsuna, Yamamoto, and to Reborn's surprise, Chrome both shouted that. Hibari on the other hand, looked like his birthday had come early if the gleam of excitement in his eyes meant anything.

"Good idea," Hibari said.

"No!" Tsuna shrieked. "Bad idea!" Turning to Royhei, he said, desperately, "We haven't hit the Kyoto Spring Trip Threshold yet!"

"The what?" Reborn asked.

"It's the FUBAR limit," Yamamoto said wearily. His smile twitched and wavered at the mere thought. "Kyoko is only allowed to join the fight when everything is fucked beyond belief and adding a couple miles of collateral damage isn't going to make a difference. Also known as the Kyoto Spring Trip Threshold."

Off to the side, Chrome was crouched to the ground, slightly rocking back and forth.

"Seriously, what happened on the Kyoto Spring Trip?" Gokudera asked.

Reborn would like to know too. It came up far too often in a strange context to pass off as a simple field trip filled with embarrassing things that no one wanted to speak about.

"Just… just have her on standby, Oniisan. Like she was for the Yousei attack," Tsuna pleaded.

"She found that extremely boring, Tsuna," Ryohei pointed out.

That was an interesting tidbit to know. Reborn had wondered what the girls were up to. He had figured Tsuna had wanted them out of the way in case they had gotten hurt, but still close by that they could help with the rescued kids afterwards.

"And Neesan said if Kyoko-chan caused any more damage, not only are we going to get stuck with the paperwork, Neesan promised to send all of us to hell for the summer," Tsuna pleaded.

Reborn blinked at those words. Normally that would just be an idiom, a phrase, but the way Tsuna had worded the last couple words. "Can she do that?" Reborn found himself asking.

"It's Neesan," Tsuna replied as if that would explain everything.

In hindsight, that wasn't a completely unreasonable explanation. Especially considering the walking mystery that Ayame was. Reborn wished he just understood _how_.

Ryohei gently picked up Hana and headed off towards his house where Shamal was, leaving behind Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Chrome, Hibari and Reborn.

"How are we going to find them?" Chrome asked, her hands gripping her skirt tightly.

"Kokuyo is a decent sized place," Yamamoto said.

Tsuna groaned. "Neesan picked a really bad time to be out of town. I don't suppose you found their hideout, Kyoya-sempai?"

"No."

"You would be there beating them up if that was the case," Tsuna said. He pondered for a moment. "I… guess we'll ask Meishi."

"Who?" Gokudera and Chrome chorused together.

On the other hand, Reborn remarked, Hibari and Yamamoto didn't look confused. So while Chrome most likely knew a good deal about what Namimori was, her distance probably separated her from the majority of the core issues. Now who was Meishi and why did that name sound familiar?

Tsuna didn't answer the question, already on the phone, dialing.

\---------------------------------------

**Talking To Myself**

Bianchi looked around the empty house. Odd, where was everyone? Where had they gone? She had just stepped outside into the yard to answer a phone call and when she had come back in, the house was empty.

A note on the fridge read that Nana had taken the kids out to the park for playtime. So that explained most of the silence. Reborn and Ienari had left earlier and probably were not back yet. That left Tsuna and their guest for the week, Chrome. No note to explain where they would have gone and it wasn't like Tsuna to just up and leave without saying anything.

The phone ringing and being the only person in the house, Bianchi answered it.

"Sawada Residence," Bianchi answered.

"Bianchi-san?" Tsuna's voice came over the phone.

Bianchi amended her earlier thought. If Tsuna did leave, she could always count on a phone call with an apology for leaving so suddenly.

"Sorry for rushing out of the house."

This was exactly what she meant.

"But is Kaasan or Fuuta home from the park yet?"

"No, not yet," Bianchi answered.

Here Tsuna hesitated. Bianchi waited patiently for his response.

"This is going to be an odd request then," Tsuna said. "I need you to call out in a loud voice and say 'Meishi please come to Kinga Market. Tsuna needs your help'."

Bianchi blinked. "What?"

"Please," Tsuna pleaded.

Bianchi frowned, but complied. In a loud voice she repeated the words. "Meishi please come to Kinga market. Tsuna needs your help."

To her surprise, a chirp of acknowledgement and suddenly something shifted in the air. Nothing had actually changed, but it was like the atmosphere changed, the way a mood of a crowd could go from quiet to tense. Nothing tangible, but just a sense of feeling.

"Tsuna-kun," Bianchi said slowly in the phone. "What is going on?"

"Don't worry Bianchi-san," Tsuna tried to reassure her. "We'll be okay." He hung up before she could grill him further.

Bianchi scowled at that. Oh no, if they were going to go looking for trouble, she was going to be there right with them. Plus, knowing Hayato, he was already at Tsuna's side and would be joining whatever fray they were about to get themselves tangled into.

\---------------------------------------

**A Dish Best Served Cold**

Ienari looked down at the still bodies of his friends. Hachirou had been in the hospital for the longest and only woke long enough to reassure the doctors that he would make a full recovery. His parents were quite relieved by that fact.

On the other hand, Inmen and Mochida had yet to wake. Ienari didn't care about the DC members (always siding with the monster), but he knew Kaori was being kept in a medically induced coma due to the severity of her injuries.

"I see they have yet to awake," Hideki said, entering the room. He placed two vases of flowers down with generic get well soon cards attached to them.

"No," Ienari growled. His fists were squeezed tight, knuckles turning white.

"Do you know who is responsible?"

"No, but my tutor is checking in out," Ienari said lightly. He was confident that Reborn would find out and them Ienari could hunt the bastards down.

"And then?" Hideki asked.

"Revenge, of course."

Hideki pushed his red rimmed glasses up; the light reflecting off them. "Would you like some help?"

Ienari looked at him. "You don't fight, Hideki-sempai."

"Let's just say the pen is mightier than the sword."

\---------------------------------------

**Meishi**

Tsuna waited patiently for Meishi to show up. It should be any minute now….

"SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"Hieee! Bianchi-san!" Tsuna yelped as the Poison Scorpion appeared out of nowhere, storming at him.

"Aneki," Hayato said faintly.

Bianchi stopped her tirade at Tsuna long enough to look at Hayato who was still covered in blood. "Hayato!" What happened to you?"

Tsuna turned around, paled. "I forgot to ask Oniisan to heal you before he left!"

"I'm fine," Hayato protested.

"No, look Oniisan isn't that far away. We'll drop you off," Tsuna said.

"No!" Hayato said, fidgeting. "I want to help. I don't want to be sidelined."

Tsuna stared at him, wordlessly. Hayato was already injured! Why didn't his friend understand that he had nothing to prove to Tsuna? Before he could answer the sound of fluttering wings could be heard.

On the metal railing separating the sidewalk and the road, landed a sea green falcon. It trill at Tsuna, letting a soft chime of musical notes.

"Meishi is here," Tsuna said.

"Where?" Hayato, Bianchi and Reborn asked.

"I had no idea falcons could come in a sea green color," Chrome remarked at the same time.

"You can see her, Chrome?" Takeshi asked, slightly surprised.

Tsuna has suspected that Chrome actually could see spirits. She kept glancing in Giotto's general direction far too often for it to be a coincidence. However, neither her or Ayame (and Ayame had to have known) had said anything so Tsuna hadn't brought it up before.

"Ah… yes?" Chrome said meekly. "Is that… strange?"

"Not at all," Tsuna said. He quickly glanced at the two very confused siblings and one very resigned looking Reborn. "We can too, but Hayato, Bianchi-san and Reborn can't."

To the side, Kyoya snorted lightly.

Ignoring him, Tsuna turned towards Meishi and said, "Meishi can you shift down to the others can see you?"

Cue two squawks from Bianchi and Hayato as Meishi shifted down to the physical plane.

"A green falcon," Reborn said flatly.

"Is that a UMA?!" Hayato shouted.

Tsuna smiled slightly at their reactions. "This is Meishi," he introduced the falcon. "She helps Kaasan around the house. Her ability is Absolute Sight. She can see everything and everything within a certain radius."

"The one always watching?" Reborn asked.

"Yes," Tsuna said. Meishi always watching. She was the one that allowed Nana to know where her sons were which in turn allowed Nana to defuse any potential fight before it happened. It was not a perfect system, but as it prevented the majority of the potential fallouts between Tsuna and Ienari, it was an acceptable one. Tsuna could, in turn, rely on Meishi to keep his mother company and keep an eye on the kids as well. Especially Fuuta, who had a higher priority than Tsuna these days due to his high risk factor.

Yes, Meishi fit well into the Sawada Household.

"Meishi, we're looking for Rokudo Mukuro and his gang. We know they're somewhere in Kokuyo because they were wearing the school uniforms," Tsuna explained. "Do you remember the pictures Ayame-nee showed you?"

Meishi let out a positive chirp.

"Good," Tsuna said. "Can you find them?"

Meishi let out another chirp and took to the air. She circled around in the air once, twice, before turning to the east.

Kyoya took off first, followed by Takeshi and Chrome. Tsuna looked at Hayato and said, "You don't have to come Hayato. We're not going to think differently of you. Please don't push yourself. It would be different if I had remembered to ask Oniisan to heal you."

Hayato shook his head. "It's not that bad of a wound. I won't slow you down Tsuna-sama."

Tsuna bit his lip. He had a bad feeling about this, not unlike his Hyper Intuition, but not the same either. There wasn't time to convince Hayato otherwise and the months Tsuna had known the bomber, Tsuna knew Hayato could be relentlessly stubborn. Just look at Hayato's insistence of calling Tsuna 'Tsuna-sama'.

Against his better judgement, Tsuna relented. He offered his hand to Reborn, letting the hitman climb aboard his shoulder. Bianchi frowned at Hayato, but did not say anything.

"Let's go," Tsuna said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko kicks butt, just saying. And here's what happened to the missing page from Fuuta's book. Ienari wasn't attacked because they were going to leave him for last (Tsuna was included since, you know, twins). Hayato is being a stubborn butt. Let's head towards the final confrontation against Mukuro. :3
> 
> **General Notes:**  
>  Meishi is the 'one who is always watching'. That leaves 2 more to go! Meishi was first introduced (by name) in Chapter 7: Birdsong and first by appearance in Chapter 13: Falcon. While not based off a particular spirit or god, Meishi's falcon form was chosen specifically because falcons (much like hawks) are known for their keen eyesight.
> 
>  **Bilingual Bonus**  
>  Meishi – Clarity of Vision


	18. Mukuro Arc: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. -strangles Mukuro- A certain pineapple head didn't want to be written.
> 
>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
> 
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Kokuyo Land**

Tsuna and company approached the abandoned amusement park, Kokuyo Land. Meishi landed on a nearby tree branch, gesturing with her wing into the broken building in the distance.

"Thank you Meishi," Tsuna said.

Meishi let out another trill and took back into the air.

Tsuna, turning back to his friends, said, "This is as far as Meishi can go. At least on the physical plane, but according to her, Mukuro and his gang are within in here this area. Please be careful. Especially you, Hayato. You're already injured."

"Of course Tsuna," Takeshi said.

"I will be fine Tsuna-sama!" Hayato shouted.

Bianchi did not look impressed by Hayato's energy. Kyoya of course marched into the park without another word.

Tsuna smiled at Chrome who looked nervous. "It'll be okay Chrome. You can still go back if you don't want to come."

Chrome shook her head and steeled herself. "No. I want to do this. I want to help."

"All right," Tsuna said.

They entered the park.

\---------------------------------------

**Panic**

"I can't find Hana!" G said, distressed.

The three spirits had arrived to find Namimori surprisingly quiet.

"According to Tsuyoshi, Takeshi flew out of the house just minutes before we arrived. Tsuyoshi isn't sure where he went," Ugetsu said.

"The Sawada household was empty," Giotto said. "Note on the fridge said Nana took the kids out. But no Meishi in sight, which is really rare because Meishi rarely leaves there."

"Hana!" G cried out, shouting into the open air.

"It's times like these, one would think Hana is his precious daughter with the way G is acting," Ugetsu said, amused.

"Well, even though most of them have parents, can you really blame us for thinking such things?" Giotto said fondly.

Ugetsu nodded. "Takeshi is growing up into a fine boy. Alaude is so proud, he's smugly rubbing it in our faces."

"HOW CAN YOU TWO BEING SITTING THERE CHATTING WHEN HANA IS IN TROUBLE!" G shouted at them both.

"Maa, maa," Ugetsu said, platituding G. "We'll check Kyoko and Ryohei's house next. Perhaps Hana went to visit them."

"She better be okay," G howled, taking off in the direction of the Sasagawa household.

\---------------------------------------

**Pitfall**

Kokuyo Land was quiet. Almost too quiet. Hayato surveyed the surroundings, hands twitching for his bombs. This seemed to be too easy. Too easy to track their enemy. They had to know they were going to chase after them, even if a UMA was what led them here.

He took a step forward…

And the ground gave away.

"Hayato!"

\---------------------------------------

**Entrapment**

The minute Hayato fell, Bianchi's heart stopped. She was about to race forward, before Tsuna pulled her back. She couldn't even snap at the brunet as a small explosion from a bomb from where she had just stepped went off. Tsuna saved her from immediate death, but it didn't stop the shrapnel from hitting her, slicing her leg and cheek. Bianchi ignored the pain though, Hayato needed help.

She peered down the hole, briefly noticing out of the corner of her eye that fights had begun to break out around her. The sounds of metal clashing against metal filled the air, but Bianchi trusted Tsuna enough to watch her back while she paid attention to Hayato.

Hayato didn't look good. His expression was twisted in pain. His arm was bent in an odd way, probably broken.

"Use Leon as a rope," Reborn said, appearing at her side.

Bianchi nodded, jumping down into the hole. She wrapped the rope around her brother, securing him tightly. Reborn and Tsuna hoisted Hayato up as quickly as they could, before sending Leon back down to pull Bianchi up.

"Get him to Shamal," Tsuna said. "Don't worry about this."

"Tsuna-sama," Hayato groaned.

"This is not up to debate," Tsuna said sharply. "Your life is more important than this Hayato. I mean it."

"Got it," Bianchi said. She looped Hayato's uninjured arm around her neck. "Thank you Tsuna," she said.

Tsuna merely nodded. "Look after him."

\---------------------------------------

**Rolling Chill**

Ienari felt a chill roll down his spine. He and Hideki had left the hospital, searching for extra clues as to who could behind the attacks. Ienari refused to let the attacks go unpunished.

A heavy fog seemed to have rolled into town, dense and impenetrable and seeping into the ground. A whispering breeze fluttered, whistling and echoing faint sounds. If Ienari didn't know any better, he would have suspected that he had walked straight into a horror movie.

Hideki pushed his red rimmed glasses further up on his nose. He pulled out a black ballpoint pen from his pocket, twirling it across the bridge of his fingers.

"There are these men in black and bandages," Hideki said. "They have been lingering in the shadows of the town all week. Very suspicious."

"Then the plan is to find these guys, ambushed them and hand them over to the authorities or Hibari whoever," Ienari said. "Where can we find them?"

"They've been seen at the edge of the town's border." Hideki said.

"Let's go then."

From the shadows of the hospital room, Fon frowned.

\---------------------------------------

**Battlefield**

Chaos.

Any battlefield worth mentioning was one that devolved into chaos. It wasn't even the fun kind of chaos, one Reborn of all people would have enjoyed, but one fraught with life and death, the swinging pendulum of insanity, gritty and dirty. A battlefield that took all your sense to simply survive and come out intact.

The three of members of Mukuro's gang, Lancia, Ken and Chikusa had sprung out of nowhere, the minute Hayato had fallen down the hole. The entire battlefield was laced with traps and pitfalls. After making sure Bianchi and Hayato made it away safely, Tsuna turned his attention to the battlefield.

Another explosion had gone off from another land mine that had Takeshi propelling away, coated in his Rain Flames to protect himself. Chasing after him was Ken, fangs bared and claws out. Chrome charged forward, Mist Flames hiding her from sight as she created copies of everyone to confuse their enemies.

To Tsuna's left, a storm of whirlwinds kicked up, followed by the purple Cloud Flames. Kyoya was grinning as he attacked Lancia. Reborn was… somewhere. No gunshots filled the air, so that meant the hitman wasn't actively fighting like he had been during Yousei's attack. If Tsuna had to guess, Reborn was using this time to observe them.

That wasn't completely surprising to Tsuna. He knew that Reborn was still actively trying to convince Vongola to make Tsuna a Decimo Candidate, something Tsuna did not want. There was no doubt in Tsuna's mind that the hitman was probably recording this fight to send directly to Nono as proof that Tsuna could handle the world of mafia and could handle taking down a wanted criminal.

Tsuna flipped backwards, dodging the spinning red yoyos. His golden swords flashed into existence, parrying the falling needles.

A burst of wind swept the battlefield, triggered off the rest of the hidden explosions. Tsuna grinned to himself. "Always a quick thinker, Takeshi," he mumbled to himself. The smell of blood filled the air. "And that is probably Kyoya-sempai," Tsuna said.

Now the real question was, where was Mukuro? He had to be close by, somewhere. Those were Mist Flames that had hid the three ambushers. He stretched his senses, trying to sense where Mukuro was.

'There,' he thought. 'About a 100 feet away, to the left.'

Tsuna charged forward, slipping in Chikusa's defense and punching him straight into Ken. "I got Mukuro," Tsuna called out to Takeshi.

"Got it," Takeshi said. "Be careful Tsuna."

"I will," Tsuna said. He took off, orange flames trailing behind him as he headed towards Mukuro's direction.

It was time to end this.

\---------------------------------------

**Ghostly Visitors**

A different kind of chaos was happening at the Sasagawa Household. Shamal had just finished tending to Hana when Bianchi and Hayato had showed up.

"You stupid student of mines," Shamal scolded Hayato, wrapping his wounds with bandages. "You're lucky you didn't pass out from blood loss."

Shamal had just finished tying the bandage when the door suddenly flew open and the furniture rattled around.

"G-san," Ryohei called out. "Hana is extremely alright! Please stop panicking."

"What is going on?" Bianchi asked, eyes wide.

"Just some concerned guests," Kyoko said. "Calm down G-san. You too Giotto-san, Ugetsu-san. Hana is fine. Yes she was hurt, yes we know who was responsible, yes they will pay."

"G, Giotto, Ugetsu?" Shamal repeated faintly. Those are the names of the Vongola founders.

Ryohei and Kyoko shared a look.

"Ah… you've never told Shamal-san, oniisan?" Kyoko asked.

"It has never come up!" Ryohei protested.

"I'm surprised Bianchi-san or Hayato-kun doesn't know either," Kyoko continued onward.

"Don't know what?" Hayato growled out.

"You three might as well shift down," Kyoko said.

Shamal blinked, stunned at the sudden appearance of three figures he had only seen paintings of. G took a moment to glare at them before turning his attention back to the lovely Hana while Primo and Ugetsu stand there looking friendly. That… was…

"More spirits?" Bianchi asked, faintly.

More?! There are more?! What was going on?!

Kyoko just smiled. It was sympathetic. "I guess we should explain. The first thing you should know is that Namimori is a spiritually charged place and spirits and ghosts come to visit all the time."

By the time she was done explaining how they knew Vongola's first generation, Shamal felt like his head was spinning. Did Reborn know about this? If he did, the hitman had a lot of explaining to do. If he didn't, how was Shamal going to explain it to him?! This… was…

"My head," Hayato said, nursing his head with his uninjured hand.

Shamal agreed with his protege.

"You get use to it," Giotto chirped.

Shamal did not think he was going to get use to it. Spirits. Actual real spirits.

"Where's Tsuna?" Giotto asked.

"He's off stopping Mukuro," Ryohei said.

"By himself!"

Apparently ghosts can still pale. Who knew?

"We're backup. Everyone else is with him," Kyoko said with a huff.

Shamal just watched as G fretted over Hana and Ugetsu managed to engage Bianchi and Hayato in a conversation with Ryohei. Kyoko was reassuring Giotto and all Shamal could do was cradle his head in hands and echo a phrase that Reborn had been repeating since his arrival.

"Goddamn Namimori."

\---------------------------------------

**The Vindice**

They had found the bastards. Ienari gripped his bo staff; his orange flames dancing at the tips. Hideki stood next to him, pen out ready to write in the air. Ienari still didn't know how a pen was going to help, but an ally was an ally and he could trust Hideki.

"You guys are going to pay," Ienari said with a scowl.

"Stand aside," the bandaged man said. His voice creaked and cracked as if he wasn't used often.

"No," Ienari said. "You're going to pay for hurting Hisen-chan!"

He leapt forward, staff swinging. The man dodged it to the side, throwing a chain out at Ienari. Ienari deflected it, then trusted his staff forward.

The crackle of a fire and the heat caused Ienari to look. Standing there with the kanji for Fire in front of him was Hideki who had just hurled a fireball at the two other lackeys.

"Since when can you do that?" Ienari called out.

"Since always," Hideki said. He drew another kanji, this time water, in the air and beget a stream of water. "Focus on your opponent. I will hold these ones off."

Ienari nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to his opponent. This bandaged man was strong. Even he could see that. He jumped forward, swinging his staff once more. Undeterred the man shot his chains out, wrapping around the staff. With a crunch, it snapped the wooden bo staff in half. Another chain shot out, wrapping around Ienari's torso and throwing him straight into Hideki.

'Omph!' Ienari cried out as he collided with Hideki. The impact sent them sprawling to the ground.

"That's enough."

The battle came to a halt as Fon appeared.

"Fon-sensei?" Ienari said in disbelief. Why was he here?

Fon bowled to the men in bandages. "I apologize for my student. He is not aware of who you are."

"Ignorance is no excuse," the leader all but hissed.

"He is Vongola Decimo," Fon said firmly, pointing to Ienari.

That gave the bandaged man some paused. Ienari stopped for a moment to wonder exactly how powerful Vongola was. Some part within him cackled with glee at the mere thought that soon Ienari would inherit such a powerful famiglia.

"Jager-sama, we have found the location of Rokudo Mukuro," one of the smaller Vindice spoke.

The leader, now identified as Jager nodded. "We will let this go this once. Our target is Rokudo Mukuro, not Vongola Decimo."

They vanished into the rolling mist, leaving behind a solemn Fon and a seething Ienari and Hideki.

\---------------------------------------

**Observation**

Reborn followed after Tsuna, up the stairs and through the building in search of Mukuro. He carried with him a small video recorder, determined to record the resulting battle. This, if nothing else, would be more than enough proof that Tsuna at least deserved a chance at the Decimo position.

So Reborn watched, observing with careful eyes as Tsuna entered the last room; Sky Flames ablaze, casting the room in an orange glow.

"Come out Rokudo Mukuro."

\---------------------------------------

**Rokudo Mukuro**

"Come out Rokudo Mukuro."

Tsuna waited. His swords gleamed, shining from the light of his Flames. They hovered around him lazily, awaiting orders. Orange eyes surveying the room. Nothing looked out of place, but Tsuna's Hyper Intuition sang.

Yes, Mukuro was in this room.

Suddenly the floor gave away, changing into lava. Roaring and bubbling, the lava erupted from the ground. The ground rumbled, cracking and groaning falling to the ground.

That was the thing with illusions. They were fictional at its core. A strong willpower was enough to cover the illusion, the confident fact that the person knew what they were experiencing was fake. However, highly skilled illusion masters were so good that they could trick the mind into believing that they were real, fooling even the senses. Those were the more dangerous people to battle.

Mukuro was such a skilled illusion master.

For people couldn't help but react when they _think_ they feel the heat of lava, feel the ground crumbling beneath their feet. Reacting when they think they hear the ground cracking, the smell of smoke and the taste of ash in their mouth.

Had Mukuro's opponent been anyone but Tsuna, his victory would have been guaranteed.

It was not the case here.

Tsuna didn't flinch, letting the illusion wash over him. See, Mukuro may be a skilled illusion master, but Tsuna knew Engetsu, trained with the seven tailed kitsune. Kitsunes were illusion gods and one as old as Engetsu was powerful enough to make her illusions real, to give her illusions weight and texture. In fact, they were beginning to reach the point of reality warping.

Mukuro's illusions were good, but Engetsu's were better.

Combined with Tsuna's Hyper Intuition, Tsuna could recognize the false lava for what it was: an illusion.

Tsuna held out his hand, taking aim. His swords followed the motion, how circling around Tsuna's wrist instead. Light began to gather around the tips of the swords, crackling with energy. " _Rasutā Kyanon._ " The light beams fired, aiming at a seemingly empty place.

The area shimmered as Mukuro appeared, dodging the stream of lights. Tsuna darted forward, propelled by his Sky Flames, aiming a swift uppercut into Mukuro's stomach. Mukuro's red eye flashed to the San Kanji and a pack of wild dogs appeared.

Tsuna flicked his wrist, sending his swords to pierce each dog. " _Raito Reiji._ " They zoomed around, spinning and sending off light beams. While they focused on that, Tsuna threw a bunch only to be blocked by Mukuro's trident.

"Why are you doing this?" Tsuna demanded. "What is the point of attacking everyone?"

"Kufufu," Mukuro said. "Is this the extent of Vongola's power?"

Lotus vines appeared from nowhere, but Tsuna swatted them away with an arc of Sky Flames. He didn't dodge as a poisonous snake came flying at him, letting the illusion pass through him.

Mukuro narrowed his eyes, displeased. "My illusions don't effect you like they do on others."

A sardonic smile played on Tsuna's lips. This was the second reason why Tsuna made for a terrible opponent for Mukuro.

Humans were heavily reliant on sight. Visual perception was literally your brain analyzing the information that is contained in visible light. Master Illusionists could fool their opponents by tricking their senses, but it all started with the visual perception. It was said you cannot fool a blind man with an illusion. An illusion, an image created by bending the visible light, would have no effect on Tsuna.

For all of light's domain was Tsuna's to control.

His golden swords sprung upwards, orbiting around Mukuro as light gathered at their tips.

Tsuna leapt back, arm raised to the sky as his next attack prepped. "Hametsu no Hikari," he said, letting his arm drop. The light beams fired, collided at the center. The light expanded outward, engulfing the entire room in a white light.

It faded away to reveal a heavily injured Mukuro. He leaned, using his trident to prop himself up. Chest heaving, blood dripping down his arm, Mukuro wavered just for a fraction of a second.

And Tsuna? Tsuna stood calmly, his golden swords floating behind him like suspended wings. His Sky Flames still burned strong, flickering and casting orange light. Tsuna looked at Mukuro, his orange eyes held no warmth, no anger.

"Give up Mukuro," Tsuna said calmly. "This is not a fight you will win. Why are you attacking the students of Namimori Middle?"

"Kufufu, I don't expect for you to understand," Mukuro said. "You, who is going to inherit all of Vongola's power."

Tsuna's lips drew into a thin line. "You misunderstand. I am not the Decimo Candidate."

"So you're the loyal dog following your twin's orders," Mukuro sneered.

Tsuna shook his head. "No. Ienari does not even know that I'm here. I'm here because you attacked my friends. My friends who have nothing to do with the mafia aside from being friends with me. I want nothing to do with the mafia, no wish to stain my hands in their blood and carry their sins."

Something like surprise flickered across Mukuro's face before his guard slammed back up. An apathetic smile appeared on his face. "So you sacrifice your brother instead?" he taunted. "How are you any better than?"

Tsuna ignored the jib, despite the sharp stab to his heart. Instead, he continued onward, "Is this because of what the Estraneo Famiglia did to you?"

Ayame was always thorough with her research. Mukuro may have not left a digital trail or even a paper one, but there were other ways that were available to her only. Naturally, Ayame had found out about Estraneo Famiglia and what set Mukuro on his dark and destructive path. Tsuna had been horrified to find out about human experimentations that Mukuro and his friends had suffered.

"Do not pretend to understand," Mukuro hissed. His red eye flickered to the Kanji 'Go'.

Tsuna threw his hands up as an aura burst out, surrounding Mukuro. Mukuro charged forward, jabbing his trident at Tsuna. A golden sword materialized in Tsuna's hand, parrying the attack. Mukuro pushed forward, pushing Tsuna back. A swift kick at Tsuna's unprotected side, sent the small brunet rolling.

Tsuna flipped to his feet, jumping to the side to dodge another swipe of the trident. A flicker of the wrist sent his swords flying towards Mukuro. The illusionist defected each one. Tsuna slipped through Mukuro's guard and punched him in the cheek.

"We don't have to do this," Tsuna tried to reason again. "If you're after revenge, this is pointless. If you're seeking asylum, I can help with that."

"Kufufu, I am not a simple person," Mukuro said. "I intend to start a world war by possessing every important person in the world and to cleanse the world of darkness. But I'll start by eradicating the mafia."

"That's naive!" Tsuna shouted. "The whole world hangs in a balance. Light cannot exist without darkness. Darkness cannot exist without light. Eradicating mafia only means something stronger will take its place!" He evaded another stab of Mukuro's trident.

"So you would do nothing? Leave everything to status quo?" Mukuro said.

"I said eradicating them is foolish, changing them is not!" Tsuna shouted back. He wanted to shout out more, of what could be done, what was already in process and the plan that would cripple Vongola in a way that no one would ever realize. Tsuna held his tongue, well aware that Reborn was somewhere still watching, observing. The plan couldn't get back to Vongola, not now and preferably not ever. But Reborn's loyalties still laid with Vongola, still with Ienari and Tsuna couldn't take that chance.

"How do you intend to do that?" Mukuro said.

"Oh Mukuro," Tsuna said with pity. His flames flickered, pulsing. "You have no idea what you wandered into." He caught Mukuro's trident in his hands. Ice shards gathered, spreading from Tsuna's hands down the trident and wrapped around Mukuro. "Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition."

"What is this?" Mukuro demanded, as the ice crawled up to his neck, immobilizing him.

"Something you won't break out of," Tsuna said.

The sound of chains and a rolling chill that filled the room, instantly put Tsuna on guard. From the shadows, Reborn reappeared; his expression grim. "Vindice have arrived," the hitman said.

Three bandaged men covered in black cloaks appeared. They dragged with them the three bodies of Ken, Chikusa and Lancia. Trailing behind them, wary and on guard was Kyoya, Takeshi and Chrome.

"Hand over Rokudo Mukuro," Jager said.

Hyper Intuition flared within Tsuna. That voice was telling him not to hand over Mukuro to Vindice. Orange eyes narrowed in distrust, Tsuna calmly asked, "What crimes has Mukuro been charged with that the Vindice is here?"

That seemed to surprise everyone but Tsuna's friends in the room. Reborn casted a quick glance at Tsuna while Mukuro's sharp gaze stared at Tsuna with just a hint of confusion. Even the Vindice were taken aback.

"He escaped Vendicare without serving his sentence," Jager said.

"But what was the original crime?" Tsuna asked.

"The eradication of Estraneo Famiglia and Northern Famiglia," Jager commented on.

"The eradication of the Estraneo Famiglia was self defense and there is evidence to prove that. They were conducting human experimentation and Mukuro and his friends are victims," Tsuna said. "As far as the Northern Famiglia goes, one could argue insanity for Mukuro who was probably not the most stable at the time. Adding on Northern Famiglia's human and drug trafficking crimes and the fact that they have shown an interest in continuing where the Estraneo Famiglia, it could argued that Mukuro was acting in self defense, to prevent himself from being captured."

By now Mukuro was staring at Tsuna with something akin to shock.

"Like what the fuck," Ken softly swore.

Lancia on the other hand had a look of utter betrayal. "They were going to continue…?" he muttered softly to himself.

"It does not matter," Jager said. "Hand him over."

"No," Tsuna said. "The time Mukuro and his friends have served was enough atonement. You will let them go."

From the sidelines, Kyoya, Takeshi and Chrome all slid into readied stances.

"Tsuna, this is not a fight you want to start," Reborn said quietly. "The Vindice is not a group you want to challenge."

"Who are you to demand this?" Jager asked.

Tsuna drew himself up straight. His Sky Flames pulsed brighter, purer. "I am Sawada Tsunayoshi."

That got a reaction, but not one anyone expected.

"... Understood," Jager said. "We will release the criminals, Rokudo Mukuro, Joshima Ken, Kakimoto Chikusa and the Strongest Man in Northern Italy, Lancia into your custody."

The chains withdrew and the Vindice disappeared into the mist.

Tsuna blinked, surprised. That… was too easy. A ball of dread grew in Tsuna's stomach, though he didn't show it. Something changed.

"That was too easy," Takeshi echoed Tsuna's thoughts.

"They're letting us go?" Chikusa said in disbelief.

"Tsuna," Reborn asked. "What did you do?"

An uneasy silence fell on the group.

\---------------------------------------

**Vendicare**

Bermuda acknowledged the report that had just been given to him. He turned to his guest, and though it was hidden by his bandages, he was scowling.

"As you wished, criminals Rokudo Mukuro, Joshima Ken, Kakimoto Chikusa and the Strongest Man in Northern Italy, Lancia have been released into the custody of one Sawada Tsunayoshi at his request," Bermuda said.

His scowl spread wider at the smirk that graced his guest's face. "Good," his guest purred.

"What," Bermuda snapped, "Does the Shadow Court gain from this?"

His guest laughed. "Nothing, everything," was the whimsical response.

A chill ran down Bermuda's spine at his guest's next words.

"Long live the Shadow Emperor."

\---------------------------------------

**Triad**

Mao stood on the boundaries of Kokuyu Park. He frowned. By his observations, Hibari Kyoya had entered the park an hour ago. But the tracker said he was still in Namimori.

Green eyes narrowed. "It seems the Storm Arcobaleno is lying to us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens~ I hope you guys appreciated the action scenes. (So many... OTL ) Don't worry about Kyoko. She's got her own battle coming. Shamal, Bianchi and Hayato are now in the know about ghosts and spirits~ Fon is still unaware. Ahaha. Reborn has proof that Tsuna is the better choice!
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> Hideki's ability is similar to Super Sentai Shinkengers ability to use Mojikara. You should look it up. It's a pretty cool power.
> 
> Tsuna has always had control over light. This was introduced back in Chapter 2/3.
> 
>  
> 
> **Bilingual Bonus**
> 
>  
> 
> Rasutā Kyanon - Luster Cannon
> 
> Raito Reiji - Light Rage
> 
> Hametsu no Hikari - Light of Ruin
> 
>  With any luck next chapter will come out a lot smoother. We have a bumpy road before the Varia arrives. -sigh-
> 
> Lastly, Commenters, keep an eye on your comments! One of you is the lucky winner! Just a small thank you for leaving a comments.
> 
> Happy Holidays.


	19. Triad Arc: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**Roommates**

Tsuna knew he was in trouble the minute Ayame walked into the Sawada Household, stopped and stared. To the side, Reborn looked gleeful, no doubt pleased by her reaction.

"Neesan," Tsuna said, fidgeted. "This is Rokudo Mukuro, Joshima Ken, Kakimoto Chikusa and the Strongest Man in Northern Italy, Lancia." He gestured to the three teenagers and one man sitting in the living room. "They… need a place to stay?" Tsuna finished lamely. He watched her carefully, worried about her reaction. After all, he was asking her to house four dangerous criminals. Before Chrome, Tsuna knew without a doubt that Ayame would have accepted (no matter how stunned she was now); Ayame could take care of herself.

Because despite Hyper Intuition telling him to not let Mukuro go, Tsuna didn't trust the purple haired teen. (Couldn't trust, Ienari, Iemitsu, Tsuna has been let down so many times it was difficult to trust. If Tsuna was still working on trusting _Hayato_ of all people, whose loyalty was physically visible, was it any surprise that Tsuna couldn't trust Mukuro?)

Chrome was okay with it though, and if it wasn't necessary to keep an eye on them, Tsuna knew Ayame could have it arranged that they live elsewhere. (But trust…) No, Tsuna needed someone he did trust to keep an eye on them. Ayame, despite her busy schedule, fit the requirements nicely. (Kyoko would kill them dead if they so much toed the line and Ryohei would help, Tsuna could already see Kyoya and Mukuro would get along like cats and dogs and there wasn't any more room in the Sawada Household. Hana was still unconscious, not to mention her family was still mostly civilians and the same went for Takesushi's customers.) 'And Neesan can crush them all without lifting a finger,' Tsuna thought. For worse case scenario purposes.

Tsuna did not survive Ienari's hate all these years without becoming calculating in his own way.

Ayame made a wordless distressed sound which morphed into a resigned sigh. Tsuna felt a flinch of guilt. Ayame always gave in to Tsuna's requests.

"Only you, Tsuna," Ayame said, voice warm and fond.

But at least, Ayame didn't seem to mind in the long run.

"Kufufu, please take care of us," Mukuro said.

Tsuna paled as he saw the subtle tick signaling an oncoming headache (the same one Ayame got when Nezu or even poor Dino received when mentioned). Oh dear. This was going to be interesting.

\---------------------------------------

**Sleeping Arrangements**

How peculiar.

Three days since Mukuro and his friends had moved into Ayame's apartment. The sleeping arrangements were… odd. Chrome retained her bedroom, Ken, Chikusa and Mukuro were shoved into the guest bedroom, but strangely Lancia got Ayame's bedroom.

As there wasn't a couch or another futon in the house, Mukuro had no idea where exactly Ayame was sleeping.

That was answered when, one afternoon, Chrome returned home with a cellphone in hand. "Neesan," she said quietly. "Takeshi-kun said you forgot your cellphone when you slept in his closet last night."

She slept in a closet…? At another person's house?

"Ah, thank you Chrome," Ayame said. "I was wondering where I had left it."

Ken, in a fit of childish temper, reached out to swipe the phone from Chrome.

Mukuro's world exploded with color. When his vision finally cleared, spots still dancing, he found Ken was cradling his hand; it was blistering red and raw.

"Neesan?" Chrome asked, eyes wide.

"What the fuck?!" Ken roared. "That hurt!"

A thin smile appeared on Ayame's face. "Consider that your only warning. Try to hurt Chrome like that again and I promise I'll make what the Vindice and Estraneo did you seem like sunshine and puppies."

Mukuro narrowed his eyes. This one was dangerous. How cunning of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

\---------------------------------------

**Report V**

Nono,

[Attachment: 1 CD Disc]

Please watch attached video. I have taken precaution to send this via the messenger hawk to ensure that it would not be intercepted.

I strongly recommend that Sawada Tsunayoshi be considered for Decimo candidate. He is not only much stronger than his twin, please see the evidence of his mastery of his flames and how he neutralized the threat of Rokudo Mukuro. His friends work well as his chosen guardians with most of them showing mastery of their own respective Dying Will Flames. While Ienari does show promise, it is ultimately lacking, his various personality issues with Tsunayoshi withstanding. Your chosen heir thought it would be wise to attack the Vindice, that alone speaks of his mindset.

I repeat, Tsunayoshi is the stronger candidate.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Report V Revised**

Nono,

[No Attachment]

Rokudo Mukuro has been neutralized. All is well in Namimori.

Reborn

\---------------------------------------

**Punishment**

Ienari fell to the ground, bone weary exhausted. Reborn was not pleased when Fon had informed him about Ienari running off to confront the Vindice. "What have I taught you about blindly rushing into a battle when you don't have all the information?" Reborn said, shooting a bullet at Ienari.

Scrambling to dodge it, Ienari swallowed hard. "Not to." It was a miscalculation to attack them like that without knowing all the facts. But Hisen had gotten hurt and Ienari wasn't going to let that stand by.

How was he supposed to know they were the mafia police?

Reborn held up a taser; its end crackling with electricity. "It seems we still have much to teach you."

Ienari paled. This was going to hurt.

\---------------------------------------

**Let's Talk**

Ayame nursed her head as she stared down at her evil paperwork. The pile never seemed to get any smaller, no matter how much she worked at it. Why couldn't she just quit her job?

Oh, right. Bills weren't going to pay by themselves and she had been accumulating more bills than usual lately. If she came home today to find another piece of her furniture broken by those boys, she was going to scream.

' _Note to self: Get those boys enrolled in school so they at least have some stability and are out of my apartment for a couple hours a day,_ ' she thought viciously to herself. Of course that would need more paperwork, some hacking too, to make sure all of that was in proper order and everything. It didn't explain what to do with Lancia, but there were plenty of part time jobs that he could go out and get.

There simply wasn't any time to work on anything. Ayame had so many different projects going on and simply, she was exhausted. Tsuna's request, bless him, to house Mukuro and his friends had long term consequences.

Namely, Ayame couldn't sleep in her own house anymore because she didn't feel _safe_. Ayame had been on her own for so long that she was unused to living with people, much less people she didn't trust. Chrome was okay because Tsuna trusted Chrome; their bond built in the insanity that was the Kyoto Spring Trip. (Still, if she was honest, Chrome's presence drove her from her home more frequently than previously. It wasn't too bad. Before Chrome, Ayame could potentially go the week without hiding in someone else's house. After Chrome that became maybe once or twice a week, still doable.) Adding Mukuro and his friends, who made Ayame's instincts snarl and made her want to slice their throats if only for her peace of mind, Ayame hadn't slept in her own bed in a week.

Yes, she was grumpy and exhausted. Not to mention people kept calling her to complain. Apparently, Koumei got ordered to chew her out the stunt she had pulled. Lots of people panicking. How was that her fault?! All she did was fill out the proper paperwork for something they should have seen coming years ago. It wasn't like she made it any secret!

"What the hell is this?"

A file, a very familiar file that should have been locked up, was thrown on her desk. Ayame looked up to see an angry Giotto. The Sky was angry enough to have his flames lit. His orange eyes glowing with power.

"Fallout," Ayame answered bluntly. Hyper Intuition was a pain, nothing she could do but be honest. Damn long reaching consequences. Where had the days gone when she could just burn everything to the ground and not worry about things like fallout and consequences?

"I thought the goal was to avoid this," Giotto snapped.

"I'm making the best of the situation!" Ayame growled back.

"Neesan? Papa?"

Both stopped to see Tsuna entering the room, warily looking at them. Ayame pinched the bridge of her nose. It was going to come out eventually, might as well get it out of the way now.

"Have a seat Tsuna," Ayame said, gesturing to the empty seat. "Let's talk."

\---------------------------------------

**Fight**

If he hadn't seen it himself, Reborn would have been flabbergasted by the events that were unfolding.

Tsuna and Ayame were fighting.

It wasn't completely obvious per se. It was just until it was gone, Reborn hadn't notice how often Tsuna mentioned Ayame or Neesan during a day. A full week had gone by and Tsuna appeared to be giving Ayame the cold shoulder. He was upset, but clearly hiding it well.

Ayame hadn't been around as often. (And after meeting her, Reborn noticed how frequent her visits were. Chrome, Mukuro and his gang were still dropped off for every meal.) When she was, Tsuna didn't stay long and Ayame would basically mope.

Ienari remained obvious to it all. Though to be fair to his student, Ienari seemed to be taking his role as candidate far more seriously. He seemed to be testing the waters in Namimori, gathering 'low level grunts' and coming into a possession (though Hideki) with a building that would serve as their 'headquarters'. As a result, outside of Reborn's training and time spent at the hospital, Ienari spent much of his free time in his new headquarters, laying out plans and requirement ideas to spread his influence even further. If Reborn wasn't so attached to Tsuna, he would be proud of his student's ability to take initiative.

But still, Ayame and Tsuna fighting. Reborn didn't think he would ever see that happened. They were so largely codependent on each other, and Ayame always seemed to give in to whatever Tsuna requested, Reborn didn't think they could ever have a fight serious enough that would warrant this kind of reaction.

All of Tsuna's friends had picked up on the stressed situation and they appeared to be as lost about it as Reborn. No one said anything, letting everything run its course.

\---------------------------------------

**Vibrant Colors**

Mukuro hissed and pressed a hand to his right eye. His world blurred again, bursting with bright, vibrant colors. The colors were bright and vivid through his right eye, only slightly duller through his left. After a few minutes, everything returned to normal.

He ignored the teenage boy with dead eyes holding a bloodied basketball from the corner of his eye.

\---------------------------------------

**Mope**

Ayame moped, hiding under Hana's table. The Kurokawa family was out and Ayame had let herself in. It had been a week and Tsuna was still upset with her. She understood why Tsuna was upset and why it was his right to, she also thought he was overreacting. Just a little. Maybe she should have asked. Maybe. Probably.

She groaned and hung her head. People. Social interaction. Sometimes she missed being isolated.

Ayame thought about that last sentence before something really dark and ugly grew in her heart. White, white, white...

'No,' she thought, depressed. 'I do not miss isolation at all.'

\---------------------------------------

**Strength**

"I want to get stronger," Hisen announced.

It had been two days since she, Mochida, Kaori and Hachirou had been released from the hospital. Several other students with more severe injuries were still in there, two weeks after the attacks had ended. She pinned Ienari with a sharp look. She knew the key laid with Ienari.

"Matsushita-kun has implied that you know a method," Hisen announced.

"Hisen-chan," Ienari said, with eyes wide.

"Do not lie to me," Hisen threatened.

Fuun snorted to the side. "If it's what I think it is, why should you learn something like that?"

"I don't ever want to be that helpless again," Kaori said. She had been unnaturally quiet since her arrival, not even once fawning over Ienari like she would have.

"None of us do," Mochida gruffly spoke.

"Perhaps then you should tell them," Hideki spoke.

Ienari looked at his friends and hesitated. It could be dangerous to involve them. Was it his right to drag them into the dark world of the mafia?

Reborn's words rang in his head. 'Eventually you will need to collect your guardians. This will be your inner circle, the people you trust absolutely to be at your side.'

Ienari didn't trust everyone in this room. (Fuun was more or a rival and if there was any truth to him being a ninja assassin, very likely, Ienari doubt he would ever trust him. Kaori was going to be a crazy fangirl forever in his head). But he much rather have people he knew, who didn't have any previous loyalties to him.

He felt his Flames grow warm, singing. _Power… Strength…_ Right there at his fingertips.

"Right, so the first thing you should know is that I'm going to be a leader of a mafia family."

\---------------------------------------

**Color My World**

Mukuro prowled through Namimori like a caged animal. His head throbbed, aching as the growing headache that refused to relent no matter what Mukuro did. Everything was so… bright in Namimori. Like a someone was shining multi colored spot lights all at the same time, blinding like the sun.

And there was clearly an illusion over this town. What kind of fox was silver and walked around with seven tails?

\---------------------------------------

**Spark a Storm**

"What do you want, woman?" Hayato asked, irritated. Hana had told him to meet at Takeshi's family dojo after school.

Immediately a fist came out of nowhere and hit Hayato on the head. "Brat! Don't talk to Hana that way!" G shouted.

Hayato snarled at the appearance of the ghost. He was still trying to wrap his mind that ghosts existed and why didn't anyone tell him? Hayato ignored the small voice that whispered that Tsuna and his friends were just using him, laughing at his ignorance behind his back. That wasn't true. Hayato refused to believe it.

"Enough you monkeys," Hana cut in. Looking at G, she pointed at Hayato and said "Teach the bomber monkey how to use his Flames."

"What?!" Both teen and ghost exclaimed.

Hana scowled. "Look, Ayame-nee said he's got Storm Flames. If you taught me how to use to Storm Flames you can him, G-sensei." Turning to Hayato, she continued. "Don't you want to learn?"

Hayato scowled. He didn't need any pity!

"It's not pity," Hana said, reading his expression. She matched Hayato's scowl. "Look, two weeks ago, Mukuro and his gang attacked you and me. We both lost. Don't deny it! If Tsuna hadn't come you would have been as badly injured as I was."

Her words softened. "Look, I don't have the overwhelming power that Kyoko has, the resilience of Ryohei, Takeshi's natural instincts and definitely am not a fighting prodigy like Kyoya-sempai and Tsuna. Even Chrome has better control over her Mist Flames than I have over my Storm ones. I'm okay with trailing behind them, but I refuse to get left behind. Is that not the same for you, Hayato?"

Hayato stared her, startled at the use of his given name. Hana had never referred to him other than bomber monkey. Still, he couldn't be suspicious about this. "What do you get out of this?"

Hana looked at him, stunned, before she turned towards G, smacking with the flat of her naginata. ('Where the fuck did that come from!?' Hayato thought.) "This is all your fault, baka-sensei!" Hana said, irritated. "Tsuna wanted to introduce you to the bomber monkey months ago! After we knew for sure he was going to stay with us."

"How is that my fault!" G shouted back. "Ow! Stop hitting me!"

Hayato felt a lot better in the knowledge that Tsuna wasn't purposely keeping the whole spirit thing from him. Then again, would Hayato would have really believed in spirits without proof? His basis of belief for UMA were rooted in science and ghosts were… supernatural.

"Are we going to do this or not?" Hana demanded to know.

Hayato threw a glance at G who just glowered back at him. "Fine," they snapped together.

Hayato didn't want to get left behind either.

\---------------------------------------

**Group Chat**

'Corna Famiglia is -'

'Dibs.'

'Why do you get dibs?!'

'Because I'm sick of babysitting! It's not fun at all!'

'Enough you two.'

'It's not fair! I'm stuck babysitting too!'

'And I'm doing all the paperwork. Would either of you like to trade?'

'But you're good at that!'

'Do you still want to trade?'

'No.'

'No.'

'I don't care which one of you does it, but you both can't go. Take care of the Corna Famiglia and return. Understood?'

'Yeah, yeah. Remember, I called dibs now, so I'm going.'

'I will fight you for the right.'

'Hah! I'm not stupid.'

'You two…'

\---------------------------------------

**Temptation**

"Oniisan come play with me?"

Mukuro ignored the honey sweet words. He knew if he looked to the left there would be a small girl in a pink dress holding a doll. The high collar of the pink dress hid the ugly bruises around her neck.

"Oniisan please?"

Mukuro continued to ignore the child. He refused to shuttered when the girl reached out her hand, only for it to pass through Mukuro's.

Namimori… What a strange place.

\---------------------------------------

**Anger Management**

"You are angry about something."

"Fon-san," Tsuna greeted.

The Storm Arcobaleno jumped up on the wall that Tsuna had been walking next to, on his way home from school. "Do you want to talk about it? Fon asked, once he was eye level with Tsuna.

"No."

"I-pin is worried," Fon tried.

Tsuna winced at Fon's words. He hadn't meant to worry the kids. Sighing softly, Tsuna ran a hand through his hair.

"What did Ayame-san do to upset you this badly?" Fon asked, curious.

"Are you familiar with the phrase 'It is better to ask forgiveness than permission'?" Tsuna asked.

Fon nodded. "So you're upset that she did something without your consent?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I'm upset about that a little, but really, that's just Neesan's nature. And since she has my best interest at heart, I don't really mind. She's just trying to make the best of a bad situation. Plus, once she explained why, I would have given her my permission anyways."

It was just the way Ayame was. She was far too use to getting her own way, consequences be damned. Most of the time, Tsuna didn't mind. Often, there was little time to sit around and wait for an answer, the explanation taking too long. Action first, then when everything settled, explain. Ayame saved more lives that way.

"Then why are you angry with her?" Fon asked.

"Consequences," Tsuna said flatly. He clenched his fist. He didn't want that responsibility. How could she even ask that of him? Never mind the slim possibility that it ever would happen. What a heavy burden… How did Ayame even live with it?

Then he sighed. "Despite that, I probably still would have agreed," Tsuna said quietly. If it was the only way to do so…

But another wave of anger surged within him. Tsuna felt his inside curl with the heat. He would deal with this another time. He left Fon behind, deep in thought as he stormed off.

\---------------------------------------

**Snipe**

-Bang!-

Kyoko watched through the scope as another Triad member fell to the ground. She frowned, concerned. Normally Ayame took care of Triad members, but she had been distraught lately by whatever was she and Tsuna were fighting about.

She called Tetsuya. "Hey Tetsuya-san? I got another one that needs to be escorted out of Namimori. Hmm, yeah. No, I'm using traqs today. Down by river. I'll keep you updated."

Kyoko hung up and went back to surveying. In the meantime, she would be the one to protect Namimori.

\---------------------------------------

**Gathering**

"Sir!"

Mao looked down at the newest batch of Triad members to arrive. There was something strange going on in Namimori. Not every set of reinforcement made it all the way into Namimori and the ones that did, some were sniped down before they could reach the meeting place. Very strange. But to put on a proper collar on Hibari Kyoya and remind the Storm Arcobaleno of his place, they would need as many members as could be spared.

A total of ten members. This might be enough to take down Hibari Kyoya.

\---------------------------------------

**Apology Flowers**

"I'm sorry!" Dino apologized. He held out a handkerchief for Ayame to wipe her face. Thankfully, Dino had been drinking ice coffee instead of hot coffee.

As a testament to how often this had happened to her, Ayame calmly accepted the handkerchief and wiped her face. Her clothes were once again ruined, but that was okay, she had a spare in the office.

"How is it that I keep running into you when you have some sort of drink or food in hand?" Ayame said dryly.

Dino flinched and let out a nervous laugh. It wasn't like he meant to keep tripping and spilling all over Ayame. In fact, today was an improvement because he hadn't knocked her down in the process. "I'm sorry?" he offered again.

"..."

That… wasn't how it usually went. Dino blinked, concerned. Normally by now (no matter how calm she started off), at this point Ayame would be hurling death threats at him. (Actual death threats that she would have gone through with if given the chance.)

Instead, she looked kinda miserable, in a depressed exhausted type of way. The bags under her golden eyes were fairly pronounced and that vibrant spark, that fire that burned within her, seemed to be smothered.

"Are you okay?" Dino asked, reaching out hesitantly.

"I'm fine," Ayame said.

"You're really not," Dino said. He smiled brightly. "Normally you're hurling death threats at me."

Ayame huffed at his words, but Dino could see the corners of her mouth twitch upward. "You're such a silly man," she said fondly.

Dino bowed and handed over the bouquet of a dozen red roses (that Romario had delivered while they had talked). "My apology flowers," he said with a flourish. Since Ayame would never let him take her out for dinner as an apology, nor let him pay for the cleaning her clothes, red roses had become his signature to give to her.

To his delight, the corners of Ayame's mouth twitched even further up into a smile. "You silly man," she repeated fondly, accepting the flowers.

"Maybe one day you'll let me take you out to dinner as a proper apology," Dino hinted at.

"Keep dreaming."

But Dino didn't miss the small smile.

\---------------------------------------

**Drowning in Petals**

"Another bouquet?" Shoichi said as Ayame entered the office with another dozen red roses. That had to be the fifteen bouquet this month and it was only the 12th!

Ayame's smile tightened just a fraction, causing Shoichi to worry that he insulted her. Instead, she handed the bouquet to Shoichi. "Find somewhere to put that," she said tiredly.

"We're running out of room," Shoichi pointed out.

"I know. I put the last one in the women's bathroom," Ayame said.

Privately, Shoichi wondered why Ayame always accepted the flowers. She never kept them in her office, or anywhere where she could see them. They were always placed in the lobby, in the staff rooms, the bathrooms, hallways, or other people's offices/cubicles. The other workers were delighted to see the flowers and rumors were at an all time high (not that Ayame knew about them).

Ignoring that, he focused on his boss instead. "Are you okay, Ayame-san?" She looked like she could use some sleep. Shoichi worried she was going to collapse on him.

Ayame waved her hand, dismissing his concerns. "It's fine," she said. "We have work to do right?"

"If you say so," Shoichi said softly. He sincerely hoped Ayame and Tsuna made up soon.

\---------------------------------------

**Overwhelming**

"Ah, Mukuro-san?"

Mukuro hissed as he shifted his head to look up. There stood Chrome, standing worried to the side. She placed a cup of hot tea in front of him, frowning slightly. "Are you alright?" she asked.

For a split second, Mukuro's vision shattered, draping Chrome in a wild assortment colored strings. Pain surged, pulsing behind his right eye and dark spots dancing in his vision.

"Mukuro-san?" Chrome's voice took an edge of panic.

Mukuro meant to answer her; to give his signature kufufu and twist her concern away from him. But suddenly the world tilted and spun. He dimly registered that he was falling; vision turning dark. The last thing Mukuro registered before falling unconscious was Chrome's panicked shout and the thin arms that caught him.

"Mukuro-san!"

And he knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. So Triads are a growing problem, Mukuro you stubborn boy, and Tsuna and Ayame are fighting. Hayato finally gets his Flames and Ienari has gathered his guardians. -pats Dino- You'll wear her down eventually. Things are starting to pick up. owo b I meant to ask this last chapter, but **what are your current theories and suspicions so far?** We are steadily progressing to the Ring Battle, I kinda wanna know what you guys think. (At least two people are correct on two separate major theories and a bunch of you have picked up on a few smaller ones.)


	20. Triad Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: Covering Mukuro and Chrome's past: human experimentation and child abuse/neglect briefly mentioned.**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
>  _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.

**A Happy Dream**

Mukuro woke to a happy scene. The pain he had been suffering the last several weeks had faded away, leaving him exhausted. He stood, wavering slightly as he regained his balance.

It was a different house.

Gone was the small apartment that Mukuro had been at previously. Instead, a white spacious living room took its place. Pillars of marble supported the high ceiling, ivory handles on the doors and a curved stairway that led to a second floor.

The sound of chatter drew Mukuro's attention. Quietly he slipped into the dining room to find a large Maple tree table and three place settings on fine China dishes. Around the table were a family of three, a mother, a father and a daughter.

"Chrome," Mukuro said quietly, observing the scene.

"Nagi-chan how was school today?" the father asked.

Chrome smiled brightly. Her eyepatch gone, revealing perfect matched purple eye. Her long purple hair was loose, spilling down her back. She wore a pretty pink dress. "School was great, Tousan," she answered.

"Ah, that's my sweet Nagi-chan," her mother said, reaching out to lightly pinch Chrome's cheek.

"Kaasan!" Chrome protested, but her smile only grew wider.

Mukuro on the other hand frowned. 'Nagi?' he thought. 'Her name is Chrome.'

The scene melted away, switching to a playground and a six year old Chrome being pushed on the swings by her father.

"Higher, higher!" Chrome said with a gleeful cheer.

The scene continued to switch, showing a Chrome of all different ages, smiling and laughing and surrounded by her obviously loving pattern.

Mukuro scowled; his fists tightening. What a mocking picture being shown to him. Was it to highlight his own twisted past, how he had never had a loving family?

He watched as Chrome showed her mother her 100 on her last test, beaming smiles everywhere. Mukuro snarled. "What a farce."

Then the image changed.

-Slap!-

"You stupid girl! I don't have time to look at your silly test!" her mother shouted.

Chrome looked up at her mother with wide eyes, tears threatening to fall. She held her red cheek and ran away.

"What?" Mukuro said, as the scene switched once more to a happy family.

A birthday party this time. Full of light, laughter and joy. Family members gathered around the table as a large cake was set in front of eight year old Chrome. It looked happy and fun.

"Che." Mukuro clicked his tongue in annoyance. So not a memory, but not quite an illusion either. A dream perhaps? But if it's a dream, why hadn't Chrome broken out of it? She should have recognized that what she was dreaming was false. Such a waste of talent. He knew she had the ability. Her Mist Flames had been beautifully lit. While not as strong as his, they were purer than anything Mist Flames Mukuro had encountered.

Still, he had no idea how he had gotten here. If this was a dream, it would stand to reason that Chrome would need to wake in order to leave this place.

"Wake up," he commanded.

The image withdrew, leaving behind a cold and empty dining room. Gone were the smiling faces of friends and family, leaving behind a fourteen year old Chrome with a single slice of cake sitting in front of her.

"Chrome," Mukuro said.

Chrome looked up from her seat, eyepatch back in place. Her single purple eye watering slightly. "Mukuro-san," she greeted.

Mukuro felt the illusion start to piece itself back together. That wouldn't do. "Who is Nagi?" he asked.

"Nagi is a girl no one wanted," Chrome said.

The scene faded away into a hospital. Both Mukuro and Chrome watched as Nagi laid trapped in a hospital bed.

"It's going to cost what?!" her mother shouted.

"The girl can just die then!" her father yelled.

"We don't want her!" they screamed together.

"Not a happy family," Mukuro said, with a touch of sympathy. Just another unwanted person, broken and abused. What more proof was needed that the world was cruel and empty place?

"No," Chrome said sadly. "I always wanted one." She looked at the images of her parents, anger and full of rage with a hint of wistfulness.

"And… how did Nagi become Chrome?" Mukuro asked.

The scenery shifted to show Ayame sitting at Nagi's bedside. The EKG machines beeped slowly, the rise and fall of the lines. Bloodied bandages crisscrossed Nagi's body; life support was currently the only thing keeping her alive.

"Do you want to live Nagi-chan?" Ayame asked in seriousness. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Ayame-nee offered me a home and I took it," Chrome said.

'Hmmm so that explains why Ayame is so protective of her,' Mukuro thought. He could use that. There were too many variables in Namimori. It was obvious that Ayame was meant to be their jailor and despite her insistence on dropping them at the Sawada Household for meals, Mukuro was no closer to possessing Sawada Ienari for his plans. But possessing Chrome, she might become a useful hostage later down the road.

But here, in this dream world, whatever that strange energy protecting Chrome most likely didn't follow her here. It was should be easy enough to slip past whatever protection and bury the tiniest amount of Mist Flames. Just enough to control her…

Mukuro leaned forward, hand out. His Mist Flames danced on his fingers; a gleam of power reflected in his red eye.

And the world turned to black.

\---------------------------------------

**A Nightmare**

Chrome jumped, startled as her world turned to black. She gasped as the scene settled into something from a horror movie. Sterile white walls, beds with restraints, and the smell of chemicals in the air. The coppery taste of blood and the echoing screams. She swallowed, stepping back as she looked around.

That was when she saw Mukuro.

Eight year old Mukuro strapped down to a table screaming as they cut into his body.

Bile rose in the back of her throat. Chrome choked as she watched scientists carry out experiments on Mukuro's body. She knew this was his history; Ayame had sat her down to explain it to her, but it was one thing to know, another thing to see it happen before her eyes.

"No!" Chrome said, running forward.

She passed through the scientists as if she was a ghost as the scene shifted once more. This time she saw them shocked Ken with electricity to increase his pain tolerance, as they tattooed the barcode onto Chikusa cheek. Chrome watched as other children, other experiments were forced to do horrible, horrible things, watched as the bodies of those who died continued to grow.

"Experiment C-1023 has failed. Decommission him and scrub the environment clean, then bring in C-1024."

Chrome watched as the scientists took a scalpel to Mukuro's right eye. She trembled, body shaking as she watched them remove Mukuro's eye and implant a new one. Her hands covered her ears as Mukuro's scream echoed off the walls.

Then finally, to her relief, the scene melted away.

That relief was short lived.

"Who are you?" child Mukuro asked flatly.

The thick bandage around his right eye was a cruel reminder of what had just happened to him. Chrome tried not to flinch. She glanced around the white walls of the room, seeing that it was sealed with no windows. A thick metal door kept them prisoner. A bed in the corner was the only object in the room.

'This is a dream, a memory,' she told herself. This may have happened in the past, but it was not happening right now. Mukuro, no matter his reasons, had drawn her out of the false dream of a happy family. She would draw him out of this nightmare.

"Chrome," she introduced herself with a smile. "Hello, Mukuro-san."

Child Mukuro glowered at her; his lips twisting into a sneer. "What do you want?"

Chrome hesitated, wondering how she could draw Mukuro out of his nightmare. He most likely wouldn't believe her if she had just told him that it was a nightmare. It looked like a nightmare, but it also could be a nightmare.

"Nothing," she said. "Is your eye alright?"

Child Mukuro gently rested a hand on the bandages. He hissed upon doing so. "Did they take your eye too?" he asked, deflecting Chrome's question.

"No," Chrome answered. "I lost mine in a car accident."

"You're not a scientist," Child Mukuro stated, warily.

"No, I'm not," Chrome said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

It was easy to see that Child Mukuro didn't believe her. Chrome didn't blame him.

The door clanged as it was opened and a guard stepped inside the room. Chrome stood, standing between the guard and Child Mukuro.

"Who are you?" the guard shouted.

Chrome smiled and with a wave of her hand, she casted an illusion to make it seem like she and Child Mukuro had disappeared from the room. She snatched up Child Mukuro and darted out of the room.

"Where are you taking me?" Mukuro demanded to know.

"We're escaping," Chrome said. If they got away, that would be enough right?

"Why?"

That was a heavy word. Chrome could hear all of Child Mukuro's unsaid questions behind that single why. Why did she save him? Why was she helping him? Why did she care? Questions she asked herself constantly. Questions she could have asked him. Mukuro didn't have to break her from her happy dream, but he did. Maybe he thought he couldn't escape unless she was aware, or maybe, as Ayame had warned her, maybe he wanted to use her as a pawn. But the important thing was that he did, when he didn't have to.

That was enough for Chrome. No matter his reasons, for a brief moment Mukuro wanted Chrome for something.

This was the least she could do to return the favor.

"Because it's the right thing to do," she murmured. "Because you have people waiting for you, Ken and Chikusa remember?" She gently weaved through the scientists as the alarms went off, alerting the entire building of her and Child Mukuro's escape.

"What about you?" Child Mukuro asked.

Chrome hesitated. There wasn't a real way to describe their relationship. Enemies? Prisoner and Jailer? None of them quite fit right and despite whatever attempt of cordial gestures Chrome had made before were met with a cold wall. (And Chrome was so tired of meeting that cold wall. She just wanted people to accept her for who she was!)

She smiled gently. "Whatever you want me to be to you," she answered. Mukuro would be the one to decide whether it would be friendships, a chess game of pawn and chessmaster, or just simple acquaintances who just lived together.

With one last turn down another corridor, they were outside. The scene changed once more, sweeping away the fenced entrance of the Estraneo Lab. Gone was the concrete, the building and dark night sky. In its place, was just an empty sea of gray grass and sky at twilight with a black moon locked in the right side of the sky and white sun locked in the left.

Chrome set down Child Mukuro, watching as he shifted back to his teenage self. He clutched his right eye and glared at her.

"You…" Mukuro said.

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as the space distorted. From the distortion two creatures appeared. Tapirs, one was black and one was white.

' _Congratulations,'_ the duality of voices echoed in Chrome's head. Judging from Mukuro's expression, he could hear it too.

' _You have both passed our tests. Worthy we find you.'_

"Tests?" Chrome asked. This was a test? For what reason?

"Worthy of what?" Mukuro demanded.

' _In due time,'_ the voices echoed. The tapirs raised the staffs they were carrying.

' _Now sleep.'_

And Chrome knew nothing more.

\---------------------------------------

**Defense**

Kyoya scowled and wiped away the blood from his cheek. He surveyed his work, a group of ten men bearing the Triad's crest laid unconscious on the ground. Gray eyes narrowed. It wasn't like the Omnivore to let so many Triads gather in Namimori.

"Those who disturb Namimori will be bitten to death."

\---------------------------------------

**Deceiving Mist**

Hideki pushed his red rimmed glasses up with his right hand as indigo flames danced around his left hand. "Interesting. So this is Mist Flames?" he said. It had been surprisingly easy to activate the Dying Will Flames.

"That's no fair," Matsushita complained. "It took me months to light my flames and you can do it after a couple days!"

Koujin scoffed from his position against the window. "Mist Flame Users are usually the first type of people to activate their Flames," he explained. "Even without their ties to the Underground World, there are people who subconsciously can use their Mist Flames."

"What can they do?" Hideki asked.

"Illusions," Koujin answered.

Hideki smiled. Well, that was interesting. He could wait to test that out.

\---------------------------------------

**Assault**

"We should focus here," Hisen said, pointing to the southwest corner of Namimori. She was bent over a large map in the war room.

"That's the heart of the Yakuza territory," Kensuke pointed out. "Shouldn't we focus on the west side where their hold is weaker?"

Ienari looked at his crush and her cousin, slightly amused. Surprisingly, his friends took the knowledge that Ienari was a heir to a mafia famiglia with ease. Even more, they had all decided to treat Namimori as a practice run. It should in theory be easy to take over Namimori's territory. There was only one major Yakuza group in the town: Momokyokai and they were a small group all things considered.

"I've got news," Kaori said cheerfully, bouncing into the room. "According to Satsuki-chan there is a weird gang of Chinese men that are lurking around Namimori. Mimi-chan reported that most likely they aren't Momokyokai because they got into a small scuffle with known Momokyokai members. They are definitely a lot more dangerous."

"Is there anything in this town that you don't know?" Kensuke asked.

"It's impressive, Akemi-san," Hisen said. "Your information network probably rivals our esteemed prefect's Disciplinary Committee."

Ienari shuddered. Fangirls. He was not surprised by Kaori's information network at all. He shoved those thoughts aside.

"So we got another group that's trying to invade Namimori then," Ienari said thoughtfully. "I say we take them out first. They are probably still trying to establish themselves."

He froze, remembering Reborn's lessons and his own foolishness against the Vindice. "But we should confirm their identities first. Namimori is just a small town, there's no reason why a group would be trying to establish here. They may be part of a bigger group and we aren't strong enough yet to take on a large group."

"Good idea," Hisen said. "With the club members who are interested in joining, we are currently only 22 strong. The rest are too weak or live in fear of the Skylark."

"More members, information on the new group and we'll steadily build our group," Ienari agreed. "Let's get to work."

\---------------------------------------

**Sight**

Mukuro woke to the feeling of something squashing him. It was not uncomfortable, rather the opposite, much like a puzzle piece that clicked together. Groaning softly, he struggled to open his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was Chrome was lying on top of him. Tears ran down her face and Mukuro became aware of the wet patch on his shirt. The next thing he noticed was that his vision had been blocked. The familiar presence of a bandage over his right eye was back in place.

He reached up to remove it only to get his hand slapped away.

"Don't you dare remove it!"

Mukuro turned his head. There in his blindspot sat an angry Ayame. He could feel the frustration rolling off of her, the dark circles under her eyes made her look like an angry demon.

"Don't move," she hissed. "I don't need you collapsing again!"

"Collapse?" Mukuro asked, dazed.

"Mukuro-sama," Chikusa mumbled softly. Mukuro spotted him and Ken standing just a few away. Even Lancia looked concerned.

"Yes," Ayame snapped. "Collapse! When were you going to mention you were having headaches and seeing things that weren't physically there?"

"Why do you care?" Mukuro asked bitterly.

"Because someone has to!" Ayame sniped back. She grit her teeth. "Incase you haven't noticed, I've been a bit distracted so unless you tell me something is wrong, there isn't anything I can do, you idiot!"

"And what could you have helped with?" Mukuro hissed back. "You understand nothing."

"What don't I understand?" Ayame shot back. "The vibrant colors that Namimori glows, so bright it's like staring into the sun? Strings and songs that no one can see or hear? Little Kasumi-chan, dead by her father's hands who haunts the alleyway where her body had been disposed?"

"What?" Mukuro croaked out. That exactly was what he had been seeing lately.

"Kasumi-chan?" Lancia asked in quiet horror.

Ayame scowled harder. Then, her expression softening, she brushed Chrome's bangs. "How are you feeling Chrome?"

"Ayame-nee," she muttered.

"Don't move," Ayame said softly. "Mukuro-san will keep you anchored and vice versa."

"What's wrong with them?" Ken demanded to know.

Ayame shot him a glare. Then she ran a hand through her bangs and gave a heavy sigh. "It's called the Sight, though the more you learn about you'll find that's a small misconception," she explained. "Sight refers to the ability to see the different planes of the world. The ability varies from person to person."

Ayame paused to collect her thoughts. "Of course, despite its name, it isn't solely limited to just your vision. A stronger Sight means you can hear spirits talking to you, you can physically touch them, speak to them, eat their food, smell the flowers that grow only in the Spirit World, and so forth."

"Spirit World?" Mukuro asked.

"Think of it like a layered cake," Ayame said. "Thanks to that eye of yours, you know Hell exists. That's the bottom layer. The next layer is the one world we live on, the Physical Plane. The Spirit World is the layer above. The top most layer is Heaven. It is of course vastly more complicated than that, but you should get the general gist. So yes, ghosts, demons, angels, spirits, gods and goddesses, they are all real and you have gained the ability to do interact with them to some degree."

"Because of my Six Paths of Reincarnation," Mukuro said flatly. He never had this problem before. There weren't any ghosts that followed him in Italy or when he first arrived in Japan.

Ayame shrugged. "If you aren't born with the ability or don't spend a lot of time in the presence of spirits, the fastest way to gain the ability is to be at Death's Door and survive. But considering you went through reincarnation six times, it stands to reason that your Sight is a little more powerful than someone who nearly died. Coming to Namimori which has become spiritually charged is the equivalent of jumping starting your ability with ten times a shock than necessary."

So, his eye had given him another ability. This might have some benefits. If he could convince ghosts and spirits to work for him, to do his dirty work, no one would ever see them coming if the ability was on the rare side. Mukuro could work with that.

"How do I control it?" Mukuro asked.

"Meditation."

What?

Ayame grinned evilly. "Lots and lots of meditation. Preferably under a waterfall, but we're short of one in here in Namimori. Most people train to make their Sight stronger. You? You have to do the opposite, and off the top of my head, there have only been about five recorded cases of that happening. If you want my help though, you're going to have to wait until I'm less… exhausted."

She must be joking. Mukuro stared at her in disbelief.

Ayame gave him and Chrome another survey. "Alright, I think you two can sit up now."

"If Mukuro-sama collapsed because of his eye," Ken asked. "Why did she collapse too?"

Silence fell.

"Neesan?" Chrome asked when Ayame failed to answer Ken's question.

"Resonance," she said simply, offering no other explanation. A resigned look crossed her face.

What did that even mean? Mukuro made a soft 'che' noise. Namimori was turning out to be far more complicated than expected.

"Lancia-san, please bring that table here? Chikusa-san the orange box on the bookcase, please," Ayame said. Looking at Mukuro, she pointed to the bandage around his head. "You can take off your bandage for now. I need to test how strong your Sight is, but once that is done, it goes back on for another 24 hours. You need rest."

Lancia brought over the table as Chikusa handed the orange box to Ayame. She nodded her thanks and Chrome had helped Mukuro undo the bandage. Ayame scattered several objects onto the table.

It was an odd assortment of knick knacks, Mukuro surveyed. An orange flower, a purple six sided die, three wooden cubes, a book, a few scraps of paper, a stuffed doll, four jars, five unrecognizable objects, one origami crane, a white feather, a claw of some sort, a music box, a ball of yarn, a flute, a whistle and a chain.

"How many objects do you see on the table?" Ayame asked.

"Twenty seven," Mukuro answered.

There was startle gasp from everyone else in the room. Mukuro frowned. Why were they surprised about that?

The only person who didn't look surprised was Ayame. Ayame continued her questioning, asking him mundane and obvious questions like what color was the die, could he pick up the doll or could he read the first line in the book.

"What exactly does this prove?" Mukuro asked, finally fed up with the questions.

Ayame snorted. "Chrome how many objects on the table do you see?"

Chrome looked nervously between Mukuro and Ayame. "Fifteen," she said.

"Ken-san, how many objects on the table do you see?" Ayame asked.

"Two," the blond said.

Ayame held up the orange wooden block. "What color paint is this block?"

"Orange," Chrome and Mukuro chorused together.

Ken, on the other hand said, "There isn't any color, it's just raw wood."

Ayame nodded. "The block itself is on the physical plane, but the paint color, that comes the Spirit World's frequency. In other words, you both can see Spirits, Ken-san cannot."

She tapped the table. "The general average for Sight is somewhere between five to ten for this test." Ayame gave Chrome a soft smile. "You're a bit higher than average Chrome, which is fine. It's happened before. On the other hand, Mukuro-san here has over three times the average. Put the bandage back on."

"Why can't I just close my eye?" Mukuro asked. He didn't like the weight of the bandage over his eye.

"No," Ayame said, annoyed. "I wove the spells onto the bandage, not onto your skin. They'll dampen your Sight so you can actually rest. Unless you want the headaches to come back?"

No. No, he did not. Mukuro tied the bandage back around his head. He pondered what was revealed to him. Spells huh? So was that Ayame's ability. A spiritualist who specialized in spells. Onmyoji he believed was the correct term. If she could dampen the Sight, she could probably restrain all of his eye's abilities.

So this was the reason why Sawada Tsunayoshi had turned them over to her.

He underestimated how cunning the boy could be.

Wait a minute.

"How many objects were on the table?" Mukuro asked as Ayame placed the box back on the shelf.

She glanced at him, over her shoulder. A feeling of frost crept along the edges of the tense atmosphere. Finally, Ayame closed her eyes and softly sighed. "Forty one and research indicates there are over fifty different planes."

A stunned silence fell over the room. Ayame ignored it, huffing it slightly. "I have to get back to work," she said. "Try and behave while I'm gone. Chrome if you feel light headed or sick, head to Ryohei's. Drag Mukuro there if you feel he's feeling sick too, since I know he won't take care of himself."

Mukuro sneered at her. He was not a child!

Ayame ignored it and waved as she left.

\---------------------------------------

**Escalation**

Ayame didn't make it back to the office.

Instead, Tsuna was waiting for her outside of the apartment building. He was leaning against the concrete wall that separated the apartment building from the sidewalk.

"Neesan," Tsuna said.

Ayame took a moment to survey Tsuna. He was tense like a wounded up wire ready to break under just the right amount of pressure; his lips pursed and brows furrowed. She merely shook her head. "What's wrong Tsuna?" she asked, unable to keep the exhaustion out of her voice. She rubbed her temples, fighting off a pounding headache. Their fight (well more like Tsuna was angry at her and Ayame could admit she had been moping as a result) had gone for far too long. Exhaustion lingered, she hadn't been able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time since and it was wearing on her.

"I can't, Neesan," Tsuna whispered so softly that she had to strain her ears to him. "How can you ask me to kill you?"

Oh.

And here she thought the issue was because Tsuna didn't like that she had turned his life upside down (again) without his permission. Okay. She could deal with this. It really wasn't that big of a deal.

"It's just a contingency plan Tsuna," Ayame said. "You-"

"Why is it even a contingency plan in the first place!" Tsuna shrieked.

"Because there's precedent," Ayame replied tiredly. People fear so easily.

"What?" Tsuna said in disbelief. "No, that's impossible."

She gave him a humorless grin. "Tsuna, what exactly did you find about Sinapri?" she asked, curious. Originally, Ayame thought Tsuna had discovered all the details about Sinapri. But given his reaction, maybe he only scratched the surface.

Tsuna looked thrown by her question. He recovered and answered. "You got kidnapped when you were ten and killed your kidnappers in the process of escaping."

Ayame closed her eyes. She lost herself in the memories of water, fire and darkness. The echoing screams that still seem to ring in her ears if she listened hard enough. The rage and dark whispers of **justice** that made her blood boil. "Oh Tsuna," she said. "That doesn't even begin to cover that story. Tsuna, Sinapri doesn't exist."

"What?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"The Underworld have denied Sinapri's for centuries," Ayame said, looking away. "It was a breeding ground of pirates, the black market, slave rings and whatnots. There were supposedly over 300 people who lived on that island, all working under a man who called himself the Undertaker. An island of disease and death."

"Governments have been looking for its existence, trying to shut it down. I didn't know it at the time, but I suspect Mist Flames had a hand in hiding it from view. For the most though, Sinapri was a myth, a ghost story to scare sailors and children. But it physically did exist as a small island off the coast of Italy."

Ayame remembered that island well. It was drenched in darkness and the smell of rot. The screams and pleas of the innocent victims so loud that it was deafening. Their souls trapped an eternal hell.

"Except today if you were to go the exact coordinates of where Sinapri is suppose to be, there is nothing there," Ayame said tiredly. She felt so old.

"I don't understand," Tsuna said.

"Sinapri use to physically exist," Ayame said carefully. "It no longer physically exist. Tsuna, I wiped that island and all of its inhabitants off the face of the earth."

Tsuna stared at her, eyes wide and mouth gaped. "But how?" he asked faintly.

Ayame sighed. Then, flatly she said, "They took Asher and that was the breaking point. It was one thing to kidnap me, it was another to kidnap my best friend and hurt him."

If she was being honest, the only regret Ayame had regarding Sinapri was that she waited until that bastard had drawn Asher's blood before her power exploded outward. It rained blood after that. The fallout, however, had been excruciating. All she remembered in the direct aftermath was Koumei's emotionless expression, Tier's cold logic, Asher's fear and the encompassing desire to burn everything to the ground.

'With great power comes great responsibility,' Ayame thought bitterly. Tsuna would not be the first person she would have to burden with that particular contingency plan. No, Tier and Asher held that honor before him. With them gone, there were people, governments, who sat nervously at the mere thought that Ayame was running around with a leash. It was not surprising that they jumped at making Tsuna her leash.

Inwardly, she laughed. Tsuna had been her leash for far longer than anyone knew. But he was also her anchor. If she reacted that badly to Asher getting hurt, it would pale in comparison to what she would do if anyone decided to hurt Tsuna. Ah, well. They would figure it out eventually.

"So yes precedent, contingency plan," Ayame said. "But you don't have to worry because should I ever snap and go on a killing spree, you won't have to kill me because I've already taken care of it."

The second those words left her mouth, Ayame realized her mistake. Tsuna's worried and confused expression turned thunderous.

"Please tell me you didn't implant a bomb inside yourself," Tsuna hissed.

"Tsuna-" Ayame started. Tsuna was always frighteningly perceptive. He knew her well enough to know that was exactly what Ayame had done.

"You don't get to pull me back from the ledge and plan your own death at the same time!" Tsuna yelled. His warm chocolate brown eyes melted into that molten sunset orange. The air grew warm as orange flames began to flicker to life. "I can't believe you Neesan!" He took off, leaving a trail of Sky Flames.

Ayame watched as Tsuna flew off, disappearing into the white clouds. When she could no longer see him, in a fit of anger she slammed her hand into the concrete wall. It crumbled as if it was made paper. Ignoring the crackling as the wall fell, Ayame crouched down, wrapping her arms around her legs and felt the burning sensation of tears threatening to fall. Why did she have to say that? Of course, Tsuna was going to react badly to that knowledge. Now he was even more upset!

"God fucking damnit," Ayame swore miserably.

By Inari-sama, she was so _**tired**_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day to those of you celebrating. 
> 
> Mukuro is a stubborn ass, Ienari is on the move and a more detailed explanation about Sight. Tsuna and Ayame are still fighting. A little bit about Ayame's past too. -pushes Ayame closer to the break point-
> 
> Lastly, just FYI for you guys but my health has currently taken a turn for the worse. It's not that serious (I'm having trouble keeping food down) but it is exhausting to deal with. Combine with the writer's block (Mukuro you jerk why are you so difficult to write?!) and that's why this update is so late. I am also starting to seriously prep for my local anime con. Updates might be even slower until everything settles again but I will continue to write and update as soon as I can. Thanks for being awesome, I love all the comments that you guys leave, they're super motivators and get me through my writer's block.


	21. Triad Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
>  _Spirits:_  
>  Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> _Ienari's Guardians_  
>  Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.
> 
> _Others:_  
>  Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.   
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Phone Call**

Reborn stared at his phone, debating whether to risk calling Nono. There was some safety in delivering letters through the secured Vongola mail delivery system, but he couldn't help this persistent feeling that something was wrong. Nono had yet to give any consideration to his requests about Tsuna at least being considered as a Decimo Candidate.

Reborn knew his words had some weight. Yet it had been months and despite Reborn's probing, nothing had come up. The recorded fight against Mukuro should have been enough proof that Tsuna was far superior than Ienari in his control over Sky Flames.

Calling was risky, especially given the nature of the call. Many steps had been taken to protect who exactly the Decimo Candidate was and where he was located. With the technology today, calls were even easier to intercept.

Making up his mind, Reborn flipped opened his cellphone and prepared to dial the numbers he knew by heart.

He didn't get very far before the phone was snatched out of his hands.

Leon transforming into a gun, Reborn turned around, aiming at the intruder. He faltered just for a moment when he realized it wasn't a person but in fact it was a fox.

More specifically, it was a silver kitsune with seven tails, glowing like soft moonlight. "Engetsu," Reborn grit out, remembering the name that Zephyr had mentioned. "Why are you here?"

Engetsu didn't answer him -could it even speak?- choosing to wrap one of its tail around Reborn's phone. It gave Reborn a look, one that clearly read as 'idiot.' Reborn twitched, but didn't fire. He really didn't want to end up back in the Spirit World again.

"I would like my phone back, please," Reborn said as politely as he could.

Engetsu just huffed and bounced out of the room, taking Reborn's cellphone.

Carefully suppressing the urge to kill the kitsune, Reborn began to chase after the fox. He had just left the Sawada Household, Engetsu darting around the corner, when Reborn felt it. Instantly, his eyes snapped towards the forest. Like a supernova brightly shining and warm glowing, he felt Tsuna's flames.

Abandoning his chase, Reborn headed straight into the heart of the forest. His Sky was important than a cellphone.

\---------------------------------------

**Do As I Say, Not As I Do**

Tsuna aimlessly flew. He landed deep in Namimori's forest, bristling and angry. His Sky Flames danced, flickering. They poured out of him, coating the area in orange flames.

'How could she?!' he roared in his mind.

"Neesan you idiot," Tsuna shouted. He punched a tree, toppling it to the ground.

He sank to the ground, angry and betrayed. The sunset orange faded back into chocolate brown, Sky Flames disbursing as Tsuna pulled his legs to his chest. Thoughts swirled in his head as his emotions raged.

He was just so angry with her. How could she even think about killing herself like that? Hadn't she stopped Tsuna's own attempts with countless lectures and reminders that life was precious and that he shouldn't throw it away so frivolously? Were those nothing but empty words to her? Did she not believe them herself?

Why would she even do it?!

\---------------------------------------

**Concern**

Hana's eyes flickered towards Namimori's forest where she felt Tsuna's Sky Flames spike into existence. "What is Tsuna up to now?" She asked, annoyed. He knew better then carelessly pulse his flames like that, uncontrolled and so powerful that anyone could sense them.

"He's really angry," G remarked from her side. They had been working increasing Hana's stamina with her Storm Flames. "Giotto gets like that when his patience finally snaps."

Hana scowled. "He and Neesan are still fighting." Eyes narrowed, she looked at her teacher. "You wouldn't happen to know about what, do you? They're being surprisingly tight lipped about it."

G shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "No. I think Giotto knows because he's been subdued lately. He's annoyed about something, but resigned all the same way."

Crossing her arms and tapping her foot to the ground, Hana said, "We're going to have to stage an intervention soon. This has gone on long enough. Neesan clearly hasn't been sleeping as a result and Tsuna is so angry, he's going to do something stupid. They're both going to do something stupid."

"Can't let that happen," G said dryly. "It didn't end well the last time after all."

\---------------------------------------

**Drowning**

Ienari felt a chill run down his spine. He looked around, searching for the cause. Nothing stood out. It was engulfing, like he was sinking in water, the surface so far away. He felt his Flames, pulse and grow out of his control, singing and resonating in a way he didn't understand. He tried to rein them in, unwilling to let them go, too afraid of the depth and darkness that loomed around him. He remembered this feeling, once before so long ago. No, no, no, no!

"Ienari!"

Paled and sweat running down his face, Ienari focused on Hachirou's concerned face.

"You okay?" Hachirou asked.

"Yeah…" Ienari said, as the feeling retreated.

\---------------------------------------

**Shadow Court**

"Nono, we have a problem."

The elderly Don looked up to see Iemitsu entering his office. The normally boisterous man looked serious, a rare expression on his face all things considered.

"Iemitsu what is wrong?" Nono asked, setting aside his work.

"You remember the Corna Famiglia?" Iemitsu asked, handing Nono a folder. "They have been destroyed."

Nono took the folder and opened it, letting the stack of photos inside of it fall out. They revealed a massacre. Bodies laid skewed across the ground, buildings leveled and deep scars carved into the earth. It was as if a hurricane had blown through the Corna Famiglia.

"Who did this?" Nono asked.

"Reports are shaky," Iemitsu said. "There were no witnesses. None left alive at least. Cameras from the distance, picked up the Corna Famiglia's Mansion standing one minute, and gone five minutes later, blown away. There is only one piece of evidence that suggests who is responsible for the attack. It was sprayed with paint on the one of the remaining standing walls."

Nono found the picture and gasped. He clutched his chest, feeling his heart pound wildly. There, in black paint, was a coat of arms that Nono recalled only seeing once in his entire life: a symbol, a spiral and curves, spines and rigid lines.

"Iemitsu," Nono said weakly. "Bury this. Do not investigate this matter any further."

"Nono are you alright?!" Iemitsu asked. "Why should I bury this? They might be a threat to Vongola."

"They're only a threat if we make them," Nono said, pale and shaky.

"I do not understand," Iemitsu said. "What do we have to fear of them?"

"We do not challenge the Vindice, do we?" Nono said, speaking of the widely feared law keepers of the mafia world. "This group, the Vindice are the ones who fear them."

Iemitsu stared at him, jaw hanging in shock. "Wh-what?" The blond asked. "Such a group exists?"

Nono shuddered. "What I am about to repeat does not leave this room Iemitsu. Not a word to anyone, not even your subordinates, no one. Am I clear?"

"Yes."

Nono tapped the symbol. "This is the crest of the Shadow Court. Their creed is simple: 'Too dangerous to live, too valuable to kill.' They are the shadowy rulers of the world."

Iemitsu looked skeptical. Nono knew the CEDEF leader didn't believe him. It was such a fanatical tale that Nono barely believed it himself. But he had seen proof.

"They are divided into two groups, Active and Inactive. No one joins the Shadow Court. You earn it, by being both dangerous and valuable," Nono explained.

"But if you're too dangerous, then your valuable might not be worth the risk and if you're too valuable, you'll be locked up so tight, there's no danger to you or others," Iemitsu said.

Nono nodded. "Yes. Finding the balance is the key. For example, Reborn would fulfill the dangerous criteria, but not the valuable one. His position as the Sun Arcobaleno does make him valuable, but as anyone can inherit that title, he is not valuable enough. Yet the Italian Prime Minister is not dangerous, not physically at least. But he is valuable and I believe he is on the Inactive Shadow Court List."

"So you need to be more valuable than dangerous?" Iemitsu asked.

"No. Your value is your impact on the world. The danger is what you can do with impact. This is why we don't assassinate government leaders carelessly, or at all. The fallout would be horrendous. As government leaders, their physical danger level is not the threat, it's their words, the laws they can pass, the people they can inspire. Einstein for his intelligence, the things he invented and the one time he went against his beliefs and signed the letter that lead the creations of atomic bombs," Nono said. He knew very little about the actual members, but once you knew the criteria it was easy to see who was most likely members.

"Many world leaders are on the Inactive List because of this. It doesn't stop people from trying to kill them, but World War I started off because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria," Nono said. "In fact, it is said the Shadow Court was created because of this, placing those whose deaths would set off chaos."

"And the difference between the Inactive List and the Active List?" Iemitsu asked.

"I do not know," Nono responded. The reason he knew there was two different groups was the fact that his mother had once been an Active member. She had told him this information on her deathbed, but not even she knew all the details. She didn't know how she had come to become an Active member. Nono suspected that as long as Vongola remained the top mafia famiglia in Italy, the current Don would always be an Inactive member.

"There are different benefits between the two. One of the difference is awareness. Many world leaders are undoubtedly aware of the Shadow Court and their power, but they are not aware that they themselves are members. In fact, I only know of three Active members: King, Queen, and Prince," Nono said.

"No one knows their identities, or if they do, no one is willing to speak of it. What little I have been able to confirm is that they surfaced about six to seven years ago in America." Nono thought about the time the world quietly shook. It had happened to quickly and died so fast, in less than a year, that many people didn't even notice it was happening, not even connecting the various side effects.

"That long ago?" Iemitsu asked, surprised. "That was around the time crime dropped to an all time low in America. Many mob families, even the few tentative allies we had overseas, had disappeared, vanished without a trace."

Nono nodded. "Yes. Something happened in America and the Shadow Court made their move. They gutted the Underworld in America and left none the wiser."

"Do you think they intend to do the same here?" Iemitsu asked sharply.

"I don't know," Nono said. "But it might be wise to bring Ienari to Italy sooner than later. We were already intending to give him the rings soon; he can finish his education here."

"Is that really wise if here is going to become a warzone?" Iemitsu asked. Concern was laced in his words.

"Yes, I believe so. This may be the heart of where the fight may go down, but there are more of us to protect him. I do not know how Reborn would fare alone against the Shadow Court," Nono said. He had faith in Reborn's skills, enough that he knew the hitman could probably hold his own against one of the members, but if all three came?

No, it would be better that Ienari came to Italy. Individually, no one was as strong as Reborn, but there was strength in numbers. Nono was old, but hopefully he and his guardians could hold off at least one of member of the Shadow Court, Iemitsu and the CEDEF could hold off the second and Reborn taking care of the last. Plus, should anything happened to Nono, Ienari could easily inherit. If Ienari managed to gain Active Status, hopefully that meant the Shadow Court wouldn't attack him, securing Vongola from complete destruction.

If Ienari died… well, Iemitsu would never forgive him, but there was always Tsunayoshi…

\---------------------------------------

**New Friends**

"Little cow boy," Lampo said, kneeling down in front of a crying Lambo. All the first Lightning Guardian wanted to do was to check on Tsuna. Giotto had been sulking for days; it was starting to disrupt Lampo's naps as all Giotto did was hog the couch.

Of course when Lampo decided to drop into the Sawada Household (and to treat himself to some of Nana's delicious cooking), he found a crying Lambo instead. Shifting down to the physical plane, Lampo reached out and poked Lambo in the stomach.

Never let it be said that Lampo was actually good with children...

"Monster!" Lambo shrieked, surprised by Lampo's sudden appearance.

Lampo merely sighed. "Stop crying," he grumbled. "It's annoying."

Lambo, of course, just cried harder.

Scowling, Lampo lightly whacked Lambo on the head. "You're being noisy."

Lambo looked at him, eyes trembling him. "To-le-rate!" The small boy pulled out his Ten Year Bazooka and shot himself.

Coughing, Lampo waved away the smoke. He blinked, surprised to see that the young child was gone and a teenager that looked far too similar to him stood in his place.

"Yare, yare," ten year later Lampo said, running a hand through his hair. "Is this the first time we met Lampo-nii?"

Lampo stared at him. No one had mentioned this!

\---------------------------------------

**Path of Least Resistance**

Shouichi slammed his head into his desk. He was so close! So close! Everything should work perfectly, every calculation had been checked, double checked, the theory sounded, every test done had shown it was possible.

And yet it wasn't working!

"What am I missing?" Shouichi said to himself. It had to be something obvious, something so easy that Shouichi would be an idiot to have missed it in the first place.

His computer beeped at him, signaling a new message.

MOSCARobot: 'What are you working on?'

Shouichi frowned. He typed back. 'Shouldn't you be asleep? Why are you up so late?'

MOSCARobot: 'Working on something, got bored, decided to bother you.'

That sounded about right. Shouichi had met his online friend through a robotics forum board, years before he met Tsuna and Ayame. Despite the timezone difference, it was easy enough to keep up correspondence. Insomnia and late night inventing splurges, meant they were up together more often than not. Shouichi had come to rely on his friend as a soundboard, bouncing ideas off of him whenever Shouichi got stuck and couldn't see another angle.

In return, Spanner did the same and together they had created some of the most interesting inventions.

MOSCARobot: 'So what are you working on?'

Shouichi hesitated. He shouldn't. It was a top secret project, one he had signed paperwork for. But he was stuck and he didn't know when Ayame would be coming in. It would be a waste of a day (or longer) if she didn't come in to help him.

'How do you move something that is more abstract in theory to that may be tied to a physical anchor and tie it to another one?'

MOSCARobot: '...'

For a brief moment, Shouichi feared that he had offended his friend.

MOSCARobot: 'What makes it theoretical?'

Shouichi thought about it and wrote back. How to explain it? 'Do you believe in magic and curses?' he wrote instead.

MOSCARobot: 'We're engineers and scientists.'

Shouichi shrugged. After learning about Dying Will Flames, a component that was more spiritual than physical, he had started looking at the world with even wider eyes. 'Clarke's third law. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'

MOSCARobot: 'Why are you quoting a sci-fi author?'

Shouichi smiled. If only Spanner knew. Namimori was… different. 'Just imagine an object that has a curse on it, like say anyone who touched it falls into a deep sleep like spindle of the spinning wheel from Sleeping Beauty. If I wanted to transfer the curse of deep sleep from the spindle to say a pair of scissors, how would you go about it?'

MOSCARobot: 'Ask it? For that matter, ignoring that I don't know the rules of magic, why can't you just treat it like a battery charging a battery?'

Like a bolt from the blue, it hit Shouichi. That… could work! A battery charging a battery! Quickly, Shouichi's fingers flew over his keyboard, typing out his hasty response to Spanner. 'Thanks Spanner! I need to try something!'

MOSCARobot: 'Wait Shouichi! Shouichi!'

MOSCARobot: '...'

MOSCARobot: 'At least explain the moving curses part!'

\---------------------------------------

**Sweet Dreams**

Chrome stared down at the pair of silver earrings she had been wearing earlier that day, quietly panicking. She didn't know how or why, but they had changed shape on her.

'These are the ones Neesan got me for my birthday!' She thought morosely.

Before they had been nothing special, spherical silver orbs that gleamed. Somehow they had changed, turned into a crescent moon sitting on a cloud and a star dangled from the the cloud. Why had they changed? How had they changed?

Gently, she picked up the earrings, cradling them in her hands. "Maybe Ayame-nee can explain it," Chrome said softly.

Maybe they were suppose to change.

\---------------------------------------

**Gathering Numbers**

Mao scowled. Namimori was a strange, strange place. The hairs on his neck stood as he observed his surroundings. It was quiet, calm. He didn't like it.

There was something far more dangerous lurking in Namimori; perhaps this was why the Storm Arcobaleno had decided to hide his family here. It would not matter. Soon, another two hundred men would arrive in Namimori. Even if whatever strange power that kept most of them away, as long as a fraction of them made it through it would bring their numbers up to at least four hundred.

Tomorrow, Namimori would feel the might of the Triad.

\---------------------------------------

**Gyoza**

Fon felt a chill run down his spine; his gaze snapping towards the window. Outside was serene; a few people still walking in the streets as the sun approached the horizon.

"Shisho, Shisho," I-pin chirped, showing her latest Gyoza attempt to Fon.

Fon smiled, turning back to his apprentice. He was grateful that Tsunayoshi and Nana had opened their doors to I-pin and him. While there was still the Triad to keep an watchful eye out for, at least for now, I-pin got the childhood she rightfully deserved.

"Very good, I-pin," Fon praised as he tried to ignore the uneasy feeling.

He would go out and hunt after everyone was asleep.

\---------------------------------------

**Plan of Attack**

"Everything is set," Hachirou called out. Next to him, stood the rest of Ienari's friends. Hideki pushed his red-rimmed glasses up his nose, peering at the same map that Ienari was observing. Kaori smiled; her hands cupped around a gray tea cup. Both Hisen and Fuun were sharpening their weapons.

"Good," Ienari said. He had decided to go ahead and launch an attack on the new Chinese group. As they were still trying to gain territory, it would be better to take them out before they established themselves and then have to compete with both them and Momokyokai. There was too little information on the new Chinese group, but even if there was a bigger group, they would have time to gather more people before the larger group descended.

Plus, Reborn hadn't stopped him.

Ienari took that a sign that they weren't that big of a threat if his tutor wasn't worried about them.

"Alright," Ienari said, pointing to the large warehouse. "This is the enemy's headquarters. We'll launch an attack on them tomorrow morning!"

\---------------------------------------

**Try Everything (I see you in the night)**

A rare bout of insomnia was bothering Dino. There was a persistent feeling that tugged him to go. Finally fed up, he threw off the covers, changed into comfortable clothes, grabbed his whip and snuck out of the hotel. Romario would have a heart attack to find him missing, but at the moment Dino didn't care.

His feet hit the pavement, aimlessly wandering through the dimly lit streets of Namimori. The stars faintly glowed and the waxing moon hung high in the sky. No one was out at this hour. Dino's only company was the stray animals, the whistling of the wind in the trees and the night sky.

In the distance, he saw someone sitting at the bus stop, head bowed and shoulders slumped. 'Probably a drunkard,' Dino thought to himself and moved to turn down another street. He didn't want to any trouble.

The feeling tugged at him, something instinctual. Giving in, Dino headed down the street.

To his surprise the person sitting at the bench was Ayame.

"Ayame?" He called out, not wanting to surprise her. Dino had learned that Ayame did not deal with being snuck up on kindly, especially if she hadn't been sleeping. Being thrown across the room was not something Dino enjoyed.

Ayame looked up at him. Dino startled, surprised to see her eyes red rimmed. She clearly had been crying. It wasn't just that either. Dark circles under her eyes, pale skin and a hollowed look reflected in golden eyes, she looked like as if someone had run her over several times and had just left her there.

"Why are you here?" She asked, misery dripping from her words.

"You look like you could use a friend," Dino said. He held out his empty hands. "Look! I'm not even carrying anything that could be spilled on you."

Ayame scoffed, looking away. "There's still ten feet of distance between us that you can trip and crash into me."

Dino simply grinned. At least she was feeling well enough to still banter with him. Carefully, he approached, mindful to not trip and prove her right. As soon as he reached the edge of the bench, he sat down, still an entire arm's length away from her. "You okay?" He asked, concerned.

Ayame sighed and bowed her head once more. "People are so complicated."

"Well that is what make life interesting," Dino said.

"I don't like interesting," Ayame said.

"You would be bored," Dino said. Ayame was a whirlwind of doing. She was always running off to do something, reading and researching something, juggling five different things at the same time. He couldn't picture her not doing anything at all.

"I'll take bored over emotions," Ayame muttered.

Ah. Dino wondered if this had to do with her fight with Tsuna. That had been an eye opener. In all of his visits to Namimori it had become clear how close Ayame and Tsuna were. That was why when he arrived two weeks ago to find them fighting, it had been concerning. No one, not even Reborn, knew why they were fighting.

"Does this have to do with your fight with Tsuna?" Dino asked aloud. "Why are you two even fighting in the first place?"

Ayame frowned, wiping her face clean of the tears threatening to fall again with her sleeve. "We're disagreeing about a relatively minor issue from my point of view and a major one from Tsuna's."

Dino would hardly call this a simple disagreement.

"Want to talk about it?" Dino asked.

"No," was Ayame's curt reply.

Dino let the issue rest. No sense poking that open wound. He stretched out on the bench, throwing his arms behind his head and looked up at the night sky.

"At least it's a nice night out," Dino said.

"Why are you here?" Ayame asked again, weary and tired.

"Couldn't sleep," Dino answered. "So I snuck out of the hotel I'm staying at. Romanio is probably going to flip out once he notices I'm gone, but I left a note so he shouldn't worry too much."

"You're a mafia don," Ayame said flatly.

"Wish I wasn't," Dino said with a shrug. "I mean I love my famiglia, love my men and I've always know that I was always going to be some sort of boss. Just didn't expect my father to croak so early. Perils of being born as a heir, I guess." He looked up at the stars, so different from the night sky in Italy.

Sadly, he smiled and remembered fondly the days as a child and his father's indulgent smiles in his childhood dreams even if it was tainted with that Dino would later identify as guilt and pity. "But I can't help but wonder what my life would be like if I had been born into a normal family. Preferably a family that own a ranch. I love taking care of horses and riding them. I mean I own a whole company that breeds and race horses, but it isn't the same…" Dino trailed off, realizing he was rambling.

Ayame merely made a small noise of acknowledgement, to show she was listening, but otherwise didn't say anything.

He appreciated that. There were no hollow words of encouragement that he could still follow that dream even if he was too busy to do so. There were no words of pity for his predicament because childhood dreams aside, Dino loved his famiglia and wouldn't trade them for the world. Just a simple understanding of the situation.

"Any childhood dreams you have?" Dino asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

Ayame looked at him. Then she looked away, glancing upwards at the same stars Dino had been staring at. "I wanted to be a hermit," she said softly.

Dino blinked. "What?"

"A hermit," Ayame repeated. "People are exhausting. Dealing with social interaction, what is acceptable to do in public, what isn't. What people defined as 'normal' and 'healthy' and the stigma of being 'strange' and 'different'. The expectations of others, the pedestal people place others on. It's exhausting."

Her lips twisted in a dark self-deprecating smile. "I just wanted to be left alone. Move to a mountain, a shrine and just live among nature, allowing me to do what I want and just to be me."

"That sounds…" The word _lonely_ died in Dino's mouth. He couldn't imagine Ayame being isolated like that. But he looked at her slumped shoulders, the dark circles under her eyes and the heavy exhaustion that radiated off of her presence. Perhaps, moving to the mountains would be helpful for her, for whatever burdens she was fighting. Still, he couldn't imagine it.

"What about Tsuna?" Dino asked. "I think he would miss you if you decided to move to the mountains."

"He doesn't need me," Ayame said. "None of the kids do."

"I doubt that," Dino said automatically. Tsuna definitely relied on Ayame a lot and it was clear that he adored the older girl.

Ayame huffed, smiling for the first time since Dino showed up. "You silly man," she said fondly.

_Oh._

Shit.

Being Reborn's student forced a certain awareness into Dino. It was one thing to keep childish and naive ideals like kindness, it was another to keep those ideals and be ignorant of the world. Reborn didn't mind if you thought the glass was half full as long as you aware of the implications and consequences of the glass being half empty at the same time. Believe in kindness, but be aware that everyone could backstab you at a moment's notice.

So for Dino, it had just clicked. Like the right piece of the puzzle that just slotted perfectly. Just a small and quiet revelation. Even as his heart fluttered and dread snuck into his stomach as he smiled back at Ayame.

'Shit,' Dino thought with a wail of dismay. 'I'm in love with Ayame.'

\---------------------------------------

**Camping Under the Stars**

The moon hung in the sky, glowing softly by the time Reborn finally found Tsuna. The sun had set quickly, and night had fallen. Reborn had been forced to use Leon as a light, following the lingering traces of Tsuna's Flames that had snuffed out as quickly as it had been lit.

Letting his instincts guide him, Reborn finally found Tsuna, curled under a tree.

Tsuna was asleep. Reborn clicked his tongue, annoyed but didn't move to wake him. He could see the dried tear tracks in the faint moonlight, the way Tsuna curled into himself, clothes covered in dirt. To the side, there was a felled tree, toppled over from what looked to be a punch. Sky Flames lingered in the area, tiny sparkles lighting and flickering out.

Letting Leon transform into a blanket, Reborn draped Leon over Tsuna before settling into Tsuna's lap. "Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said without any bite. "You'll catch a cold out here."

Tsuna continued to slumber on, unaware.

\---------------------------------------

**Hunting**

Fon stared in quiet horror as he peered through the skylight of what he had previously thought was an abandoned warehouse. What he had found in the shadows of Namimori was not good. The Triad were gathering here. How had they arrived without him noticing? Why were they even here in the first place?

He was the Storm Arcobaleno, one of the world's strongest. But against that many members? Fon was not a fool. Backup must be called. Fon had to warn Koumei and had to keep both his nephew and student safe.

The sun crept over the horizon, ushering the dawn of the new day.

\---------------------------------------

**Early Morning Encounter**

Haru skipped out of her house with a wide smile. There was going to be a huge sale today and Haru wanted to get there early so she would be first in line. Plus Kyoko and Hana would be meeting here there. A gift for Chrome! She beamed as she walked down the street. It was a beautiful and quiet morning. In the early hours, no one was awake yet as the sun had just crossed over the horizon just minutes ago. That was perfectly fine for Haru who enjoyed the bright sunrays and tranquility of morning.

She was approaching the shopping center when she spotted someone very familiar.

"Ah, I-pin-chan!" Haru said, waving to the smaller girl.

"Haru-san," I-pin greeted her.

Haru bent down to I-pin's eye level. "Why are you up so early?" she asked, absentmindedly looking around for Tsuna or Nana. It wasn't like the mother son duo to let a young child like I-pin out of their sight without them nearby.

"Shisho didn't come home last night," I-pin said. "Looking for him!"

"Shisho?" Haru said. In her mind, a picture of Fon flashed. Ah, that was right. I-pin called Fon Shisho for some reason.

"Do you need help looking for him?" Haru asked. The shop could wait. This was more important. I-pin nodded.

"Found you."

Haru twirled around, startled. Looming over her and I-pin was a tall Chinese man. His smile was razor sharp; reaching down at them with a large hand. Haru scooped up I-pin and rolled away. I-pin threw a gyoza, only for it to be deflected.

"I-pin, student of the Storm Arcobaleno. You will come with us," the man rumbled.

"No!" I-pin shouted. "Shisho said I don't have to go with you anymore!"

Haru hugged I-pin closer to her chest as she inched further away from the stranger. She didn't like this situation. Her eyes darted left and right, looking for any type of help. No luck, the streets were still empty.

"I-pin-chan doesn't want to go with you," Haru said. She was proud to note that her voice didn't waver, rang clear with Haru's desire to protect this small child. "Haru won't let you take her."

The large burly man frowned, radiating with displeasure. "You have no choice!" He lunged reaching out to grab Haru.

Haru twisted her body, shielding I-pin. No, he would not take I-pin. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

Haru opened her eyes, looking to see the color green.

"You bitch," the man swore. Up and down his arms ran crackles of green lightning. His muscles twitched, spasming uncontrollably.

"Haru-san is a Lightning Flame user?" I-pin asked in awe.

A what user? Haru's head spun. Where had the green lightning come from? No, this was not the time for questions. She had to get away with I-pin before the man recovered. Wasting not another moment, Haru turned to run.

She didn't get very far before someone grabbed her by the collar of her blouse and sent her flying. Her world exploded into pain and she collided with a wall and slumped to the ground. Dimly, she was aware of I-pin frantic voice calling out to her.

"Ah, sorry I-pin-chan," Haru managed to mumble out before she slipped into unconscious. It looked like she failed to protect I-pin.

\---------------------------------------

**Signal Start**

As Haru lost consciousness, several things happened.

A cup broke.

Miles away in another country, a phone rang.

Hyper Intuition woke with a roar.

Several people jumped out of bed, suddenly aware of a chill that ran down their spine.

One of them, Mukuro clutched his ears as Namimori suddenly screamed.

Above all, Mao stood over the stilled unconscious bodies of both Haru and I-pin and gave the order.

"Capture Hibari Kyoya and the Storm Arcobaleno, Fon," Mao ordered. "Kill anyone who gets in your way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Battle Start! Man these poor kids can't catch a break can they? Someone is always attacking Namimori.
> 
> -waves tiredly- Hi Guys. I'm back. My health issues have seemed to resolve themselves (no doctor could tell me what's wrong but it's currently not a problem anymore which... I guess is good). Con season isn't quite over for me, but I can squeeze in some writing for now. We'll see how it goes.
> 
> In case anyone is curious to what Ayame looks like, you can find her art (by Klawzie) [here](http://klawzie.tumblr.com/post/144776166147/ayame-seitosokushas-character-ayame-super-happy)
> 
> On a related note, are you guys interested in extras for this story? Like more detailed theories on the Spirit World, what the Shadow Court Crest looks like (cause I drew that a few weeks ago), or the few story tidbits that I have but don't really fit anywhere. Like how Ayame found out about Yousei for example. It was too spoilery to post during the Yousei Arc but now you know enough about her abilities that I could post it. **Tell me what you're interested in seeing and where you would like to see it posted. (Via tumblr only, as an interlude chapter in this story, as a separate story all together, etc)**


	22. Triad Arc IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger:** N/A  
>  **Warnings:** N/A  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

-Five Years Ago-

**Crime Level**

Before Kyoya's rise into power, before Ayame's arrival, before the wards went up, Namimori wasn't exactly one of the safest towns to live in. Yakuza and petty criminals lurked in the shadows. Assassins and the likes found retirement here, for reasons unknown to many. In Vongola's presence and its enemies' shadows, in the Triad's monitoring, Namimori was a breeding ground for crime. It was not the worse town to live, but it was far from the safest.

\---------------------------------------

**Lightning Rolling**

Tsuna was nine when he befriended Kyoko and Hana.

At nine, Tsuna was aware of who Kyoko and Hana were. They were classmates after all. Kyoko was already popular, the nicest girl that everyone wanted to be friends with. Hana was her best friend who was gaining a reputation of being an iron wall. Tsuna had always wanted to be friends with them, but had never worked up the courage to approach them. That all changed one day.

There are two things that stood out on that day. First, it was one of the top five most terrifying things to ever happen to Tsuna. (For reference, Kyoto Spring Trip was ranked fourth and his suicide attempt at age 10 was third.)

Second, it solidified how scary Ayame could be.

Tsuna had been walking down the street, feeling lighter than he had in years. The time he had spent with Ayame at her hometown had done wonders. Giotto was friend that Tsuna had to say goodbye to, but he hadn't regret meeting his great great great grandfather! (That had been fun to find out, the similarities had been so striking that Ayame had to go and research.) Nearly two weeks after summer vacation had ended and Tsuna was still walking around in a daze of happiness.

A tug of intuition drew his attention. Hyper Intuition, Giotto had explained him. There was something dangerous in that alleyway, but despite the danger something was nudging him towards the alleyway. Something important.

Tsuna peeked down alleyway and his eyes widen in horror. There were two adults looming over Kyoko and Hana.

"Help!" Kyoko screamed.

"No one can hear you girlie," the taller of the two men said, grabbing her mouth.

The smaller of the men was already holding Hana up by the collar of her blouse as Hana tried to kick her away to freedom. "Let us go!" Hana screeched, clawing at the man's hand.

"No way," the taller man said, leering at them. "You're a little young, but we can have some fun."

Tsuna had heard enough. He threw his bag at the smaller man, causing him to drop Hana. He sparked those orange flames that Giotto had tried to explain to him and managed to burn the taller one.

"This way!" Tsuna said, grabbing Kyoko's hand and urging Hana. The two girls ran as fast as they could, but before they could escape, the smaller man grabbed Kyoko, dragging her back.

"Wah!" Kyoko screamed, slipping out of Tsuna's grip.

"Kyoko!" "Kyoko-chan!"

"Let her go!" Tsuna said, sparking his orange flames once more.

"You brat!" The taller man lunged at Tsuna.

It never connected. The taller man cried out in pain as he thrown back into the alleyway, crashing into the boxes and bags the littered the area.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" a dark and dangerous voice purred with the promise of pain and suffering.

Ayame had arrived.

\---------------------------------------

**A Demon in My View**

Off handedly, there are several things one should know about Ayame. First, she didn't share. Second, the quickest way to anger her was to hurt someone or something she considered to be hers. Third, she had no qualms about killing.

In other words, these two were dead men walking.

Golden eyes narrowed, flashing in deep dark rage. Her paranoia had her lacing several small charms and wards on Tsuna that alerted her to when Tsuna was in danger and provided some small meager protection. It was a good thing too. Ayame didn't dare to think what would have happened to Tsuna and the two girls accompanying him if she hadn't shown up.

Three children, two adult men and a dark alleyway. No, not a good formula at all.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Ayame all but purred. Her voice velvety smooth, promising eternal pain. Her killer intent leaked around, dropping the atmosphere into a cooling feeling.

"Who the hell are you?!" the shorter man demanded.

A dark smile spread across Ayame's face. "I strongly suggest you release that girl."

"Ha!" As if!" the man shouted. He drew Kyoko closer, waving around the pocket knife he had drawn. "You're in no posi- ERK!"

He was slammed into the alley's wall; Ayame's hand squeezing his face as she held him off the ground. The man choked, grappling at Ayame's arm, dropping Kyoko.

There was a flash of silver and Engetsu appeared, cradling the falling Kyoko in her tails and darting away to safety.

"Urgh, demon," the shorter man gasped at the appearance of the kitsune.

Ayame squeezed her hand. The shorter man gasped, eyes bulging. "You're looking at the wrong demon," she purred.

The taller man, having recovered from being shoved into the trashcans, lunged at Ayame. Her golden eyes never leaving the shorter man, she flicked her wrist. The knife that the shorter man dropped, went flying, piercing the taller man in the shoulder. He howled in pain, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"Neesan," Tsuna whimpered.

Ayame turned and gave him a soft indulgent smile. "Everything will be okay, Tsuna. Engetsu, take Tsuna and girls somewhere safe okay."

Engetsu lead the children away, allowing Ayame to turn her full attention to the two men.

"Me-mercy," the shorter man pled, gasping for air. He tried to pull Ayame's hand away from his face and failed.

"Now why would I do that?" Ayame asked plainly.

Koumei had spoken the truth when he had said that Tsuna had tamed Ayame. At sixteen, the concept of mercy was something Ayame wouldn't have considered. Her rage burned too brightly; her friendship with Tsuna had yet to temperate it. Namimori had ignited Ayame's anger in a dangerous way and even a year after meeting Tsuna, she burned. Learning about Dying Will Flames, of Vongola, of Ienari and life that Tsuna was leading, only caused her rage to burn even brighter.

'Careful,' Engetsu sent down the mental link they shared.

The warning was unnecessary. Ayame was always careful. No matter how angry she truly was, it was a cold fury. It made her even methodical, if not crueler.

The taller man pulled the knife out of his shoulder, hissing in pain and jumped at Ayame again. She threw the smaller man at him, knocking him back.

'Do you need me to come back?' Engetsu asked. 'The kids are safe in the apartment.'

'No. I can handle this,' Ayame thought back. She brushed back her hair behind her ears, lightly touching the silver moon earrings she was wearing. "Weapon Form," Ayame said.

There was a flash and seven orbs now floated lazily around her. She touched one of them, letting it change shape into a gun. Pointing the loaded weapon at the two cowering men, Ayame smiled brightly. "Please, let me teach you what happens to those who dare harm my favorite people."

"No, no," the men pleaded. "Please. No."

Two gunshots rang.

\---------------------------------------

**Omnivore**

Koumei could feel a headache growing. He thought he had escaped from this nonsense, but no, the Omnivore had to show up in Namimori, the town that Koumei had come to call home. He remembered Sinapri clearly, an event that had his former superiors begging for Koumei to return. Before his retirement, Koumei had been the only agent to get close enough to cracking Sinapri's location. When the reports of Sinapri's destruction surfaced, Koumei had been called in, away from his wife and then four-year-old son, to handle it.

With his restlessness and the promise of it being a short clean up, Koumei agreed. He regretted his decision.

Koumei was a man of few regrets. He did as he pleased, accepted all the consequences (or ignored the consequences per the Hibari way) and didn't give a damn to what people thought.

But the Sinapri Incident, brought him into meeting the Omnivore and her then friends. The knowledge of Sinapri's destruction was not worth the headache in the fallout.

"Omnivore," Koumei said gruffly. The alleyway stank of blood, the coppery taste clung in the air and the fresh feeling of death.

Ayame leaned against the bricked wall of the alleyway. A knife danced across her bloodstained fingers, gleaming in the light. At her feet, two dead bodies; men with empty gazes, expressions froze in eternal horror, whatever terror the Omnivore managed to instill before their deaths.

"Koumei-san," Ayame greeted cordially. Her smile was odd, just a touch of coldness. Her words were calm, but her golden eyes betrayed her shimmering rage.

There was the beast that Koumei knew not to carelessly stir. Whatever she found in Namimori, set her rage early and fast. The fact that it had yet to burn away was even more worrisome. Koumei liked Namimori. He did not need a repeat of Sinapri in Namimori.

The devour of all. The Omnivore would not distinguish between innocent bystander and those who stood in her way. Koumei needed to redirect her.

"If you are going to make this your hunting grounds, I have a list of acceptable targets," Koumei offered. The Triads members that prowled around Namimori, trying to lay a hand on his son, trying to cage him. He had to admit, if it was something he and the Omnivore shared, it was the ideology that simply… locking up the problem did not actually stop the threat. Killing the problem though? That sent the message loud and clear and most learned to back off.

_Most._ The Triad had yet to get the message that Koumei had no intention of handing over his son. They already stole his wife.

Ayame's eye glittered. "Oh?" She asked. "Well Namimori could use a cleanup."

"What," Koumei asked lightly, just a touch of caution, "did you have in mind?"

Golden eyes flashing, Ayame's smile was dangerous, full of promise, threats and power. "You'll see."

\---------------------------------------

**Never Again**

Tsuna, was admittedly, at a lost. To his right, Kyoko had buried her face into Tsuna's shoulder, shaking and quietly crying. Hana, on Tsuna's left, was pale and gripping Tsuna's hand tight. The small brunet swallowed, trying not to feel too overwhelmed by helplessness.

Keeping a watchful eye on them, Engetsu guarded the door.

Said door just opened, revealing a blood spattered Ayame.

"Neesan!" Tsuna cried out. Was that her blood? Was she hurt?

Ayame smiled at him. The dark and dangerous aura that Tsuna had felt in the alleyway was gone. "Hello Tsuna," Ayame greeted.

"Are you hurt?" Tsuna blurted out.

Ayame looked down at her bloodstained clothes. "Ah, no. None of this is mines."

"Are they gone?" Hana asked sharply. Her eyes were stubborn, narrowed and distrusting; her mouth twisted in a firm line.

On the other side of Tsuna, Kyoko shook even harder.

"They're gone," Ayame reassured softly.

"Never again," Kyoko hiccupped again. "I don't ever want to feel like that ever again."

Tsuna nodded in agreement. This… was not acceptable. Tsuna wanted to protect those around him. He felt the rising warmth of his Flames, the tug of his Hyper Intuition singing in him.

Something softened in Ayame's golden eyes.

"Never again, huh," she mumbled to herself. "Well then, let's do something about that."

\---------------------------------------

**Yellow Flowers**

Giotto gazed out at the field of yellow flowers, lost in thought. "A descendant," he mused to himself, thinking of Tsuna. It had been years since Giotto had given his family any thought. Before, it simply hurt too much to think of who he had left behind. After, time had simply dulled his memories and grief. It just… became easier to forget that he had a family line, especially after his first appearance to Terzo…

"Even after all this time, Yoshimune's line continues," Giotto said, proudly. Family was always Yoshimune's first love and pride. His son would be delighted to learn that his family line still existed, even 400 years later.

"Sawada Ieyasu."

Giotto stiffened, unused to hearing his Japanese name. He turned to see Tsuna's Neesan standing before him.

"Are you lost?" Giotto asked. He… hadn't expected to see her again, or even Tsuna.

"I know my way around the Spirit World," she said; golden eyes glittering with an emotion that Giotto couldn't quite pinpoint.

She smiled at him, but it was lacking in warmth. A smile that didn't reach her eyes, false and fake. But her words, those jolted Giotto to the core. "Say, Sawada-san, how would you like to see Tsuna again and visit Namimori?" she asked.

Instantly, Giotto grew suspicious. "What's the catch?" he demanded. He hadn't lead a group of vigilantes by being naive and clueless. There had be a catch somewhere.

"For you? Not so much. There's a technique you have to master which will allow you to shift down to the physical plane and a set of rules you must follow or be erased from reality," Tsuna's Neesan remarked. "It's a bit harder on my part, with some odd 300 paper wards, spells and prayers, a couple offerings, but if we do it right, it should last a couple decades before it needs to be repeated, assuming it has to be repeated in the first place."

"Then why are you offering this time consuming ritual?" Giotto said. "What do you benefit from this?"

"Crime levels are unacceptable in Namimori at the moment," she calmly remarked. "But I'll be cleaning house soon."

A chill ran down Giotto's spine at the phrase 'cleaning house'.

"I don't benefit directly from this offer, but today Tsuna had a small run in with two criminals. It was far too close for comfort," she continued on, ignoring Giotto's reaction. "So, what I really want is for you to watch out of him as best as you can and should he ask you, teach him how to use his Dying Will Flames."

There was a painful lurch in his heart at hearing that Tsuna had a 'small run in' with two criminals.

"Is Tsuna all right?" Giotto asked.

"Yes."

Giotto's Hyper Intuition rang lightly in his head. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either. Did that mean Tsuna was all right now, but wouldn't be _later_?

"Your answer?" she pressed.

"Yes," Giotto said. As if it was even a question in the first place. Catch or no catch, Tsuna was important to Giotto. How could he turn it down after learning that Tsuna had been in danger? "I'll do it."

"Very well. I look forward to working with you, Primo."

A month later, the wards that protected Namimori went up. A several group of spirits, including a certain first generation had become permanent visitors.

\---------------------------------------

**Clouds**

Alaude had always preferred to work alone. It was easier, simpler. There was no one to annoy him, no one for him to worry about.

A secret he took his grave (and continue to maintain in his afterlife) was that he did enjoy teaching.

But only if the right student came along.

He found _two_ in Namimori.

Namimori was aggravating. Originally, he thought the small town was one of Giotto _brilliant_ side projects, the same way the Sky had taken on renovating orphanages back in Italy. Hearing about Giotto's descendant solidified the idea.

Until he actually met Sawada Tsunayoshi and ran straight into the mystery that was Namimori.

Then those same damn protective instincts (instincts that hadn't been invoked since the last time Giotto got badly hurt, a feat that was rare after their 'retirement') came rushing back. Hackles raised and Giotto's damning smug smile, Alaude willing visited Namimori, trying to untangle the mess that was Namimori. It was unacceptable for a former head of a secret intelligence agency to not know something this big. The girl, Ayame, was equally infuriating.

That was when Tsuna introduced Alaude to Hibari Kyoya.

It was like looking into a damn mirror.

(He was going to wipe that smug smile off of Giotto's face! His Sky _**knew**_ that Alaude wouldn't be able to ignore a giant mystery and someone who shared similar personality traits and abilities to him.)

It was like fate was delivering him a student that Alaude was the perfect teacher for. Gods help him if Alaude found someone similar to Daemon running around in Namimori.

Then Tsuna introduced Alaude to Sasagawa Kyoko.

(What was it with Giotto's family line and finding strays?!)

Days after meeting Kyoya, Alaude had no interest in another student. One Cloud was enough. Trying to teach two would be a bloodbath in the waiting.

Besides, Sasagawa Kyoko couldn't possibly be a Cloud. While it was not a rule that Clouds were aloof, it was easy for Alaude to see that she did bind herself to her brother and friends. She was nice, friendly even, and kind hearted.

Except she narrowed her golden brown eyes, mouth drew a thin line and promptly punched him in the stomach. For such a small child, it didn't hurt. Alaude had to give her points for the sheer guts that took.

To the side, Giotto was clearly stiffening his laughter, Ayame didn't even bother, Kyoya let out a whistle and Tsuna paled and let out a soft "Kyoko-chan."

"Hmm," Alaude said, observing the newly unleashed bloodlust that was reflected in the small girl's eyes, the desire to protect with a touch of viciousness, to cut her fangs despite being nothing but a small kitten.

Perhaps she was a Cloud after all.

"First thing," Alaude said firmly. "To throw a proper punch, slightly bend your knees, keep your chin down and hands raised by the sides of your face. Push off your back foot -"

\---------------------------------------

**Raining Fire**

-Present Day-

"- and snap your jab out quickly," Kyoko recited to herself as another Triad member collapsed at her feet.

She jumped back, putting distance between her and the next Triad member. Her hand went to her silver bracelet, touching it and calling out "Weapon Form!"

There was a flash of purple and two Glock handgun materialized. She took aim and fired. Coated in her Cloud Flames, the bullet split, propagating and taking out seven more Triad members.

"Why the hell are they attacking!" Hana called out from her left. Her naginata whirled, gleaming in the morning sun.

"I don't know!" Kyoko said. Things had been building, that much was evident, but it wasn't like Ayame to let it get this far out of hand. Though, Kyoko supposed, the fight between Ayame and Tsuna probably distracted Ayame enough that it was possible she let it slip.

Kyoko let out a frustrated sigh. She and Hana were supposed to meet Haru. They were going to surprise Chrome with a gift, for no reason beyond the fact that they could. This was not how Kyoko wanted to spend her morning.

She grabbed the female Triad member that lunged at her by her wrist, pulling her forward before driving a fist into the tender expose navel area. Another member down.

The remaining members shouted something in Mandarin, probably along the lines of who were these kids or something to that effect.

"Kyoko!" Hana shouted. "One of them has Haru and I-pin!"

Kyoko whirled around, spotting a large man carrying an unconscious Haru over his shoulder and an unconscious I-pin in his arm. Kyoko flickered her wrist, letting her Glocks shift into her M110 sniper rifle. Her stance shifted, bracing herself for the recoil, took aim and fire.

But before the bullet hit its target, there was a clang as the bullet ricocheted off a steel sword. A man with green eyes stood before Kyoko holding a Jian in his left hand. "Oh?" he said. "There are more people here who can use Dying Will Flames? In that case, there is no need to hold back."

He raised his sword to the sky, simmering with Rain Flames swinging it down in a graceful arc. "Mizu no Maki."

Hana darted in front of Kyoko, jabbing the butt of her naginata into the ground. "Doryuuheki!" A wall of earth rose before her, blocking the coil of rain flames.

Once the attack was over, Kyoko jumped to the top of the wall. She frowned at the now empty streets.

"They got away," she hissed.

"Not for long," Hana said darkly.

"No, not for long," Kyoko agreed.

\---------------------------------------

**Atlas Falling**

By Inari-sama, she was _**so tired**_.

Ayame felt tears burn in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had always known, how dangerous it was to tie herself so tightly to Tsuna. She knew how badly it would come back to burn her. She knew, knew it so deep in her heart, and yet she did it anyways. Tsuna would never know, but he was her anchor in the insanity that Ayame called her life. Without him… well Ayame remembered all too well the last time she went without an anchor. She never wanted to end up there again.

She didn't want to end up like _**him**_.

How did she even begin to fix this? Could it even be fixed? What place did a Moon have in Sky with a Sun that shined so bright, with elements that loved the Sky just as dearly, when all the Moon did was darken the Sky around in order to glow?

They were two different pieces of a puzzle that didn't even remotely fit together. Ayame _tried_ , tempered her anger, locked down her bloodlust, and _tried_ kind and gentle and understanding. But, even years later, she still didn't understand. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how many books she read, how many observations she made, she still didn't understand.

Tsuna had wanted to avoid Vongola and she did everything she could to the point of desperation. But had she simply tainted him in a different way?

"Ayame?"

Ayame glanced to her side. Dino looked at her, the look of concern he had been wearing for the last few hours had not faded. Despite the fact that the sun had just broke the horizon, he was still here, still sitting with her.

"Shouldn't you be going back?" she asked, voice raw.

He shrugged. "I think you need a friend more," he said with a smile.

"You silly man," she said.

_**Screech!** _

Ayame froze as Namimori suddenly let out a blaring alarm. The wards! She stood quickly, feeling a sense of dread wash over. Now that she thought about it, the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong had been lingering for hours and she had been too distraught to recognize the warning for what it was.

Her eyes snapped in the direction of the shopping mall. She didn't know which of her kids, probably one of the newer ones (Haru? Shoichi? When this was all over she tagging all of them regardless of whether they wanted to or not) was in trouble.

"Ayame? What's wrong?" Dino's hand enclosed around her wrist.

"The kids," she managed to get out. Her vision blurred and dimly she recognized the signs of her body finally giving out. She had been pushing too far lately, too little rest. Ah. She was falling.

Well, at least Dino was here to catch her.

\---------------------------------------

**Screams of the Unseen**

Mukuro woke to _screams_.

His vision blurred, murky and dark as the colors swirled and muted together. Screams…? Words? He couldn't make out what the noise was, just that it was deafening and painful. His head throbbed in pain.

"Mukuro-san?"

He blinked, vision clearing just long enough to see Chrome's purple eyes staring at him with worry. Mukuro could feel the weight of her hand on his shoulder, grounding him.

"His eye is bleeding!" Ken yelped in the background. "I thought that bandage was supposed to stop that!"

Mukuro willed his body to move, for words to form. Nothing but sharp pain and world swayed side to side.

"Mukuro-san! Lancia-san we have to-"

His world turned black.

\---------------------------------------

**Danger Danger**

Tsuna woke to Hyper Intuition ringing in his head.

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked down to see Reborn standing before him. The hitman's face was impassive, but Tsuna could sense the concern that lingered, hidden. Wildly, Tsuna looked around, trying to piece together what had happened, what was triggering his Hyper Intuition.

No immediate threat in sight. None Reborn was reacting or sensing at least. Safe for now. Forest, right, after his last fight with Ayame he had flown into the forest. Wait, sunrise? He had been here all night? His mother must be worried sick.

Mentally, Tsuna ran through his list of friends, trying to probe a reaction from his Hyper Intuition. He paled; the feeling the sense of danger spike as he thought of both Haru and I-pin.

"Reborn we need to find Haru and I-pin now," Tsuna said.

He could figure out everything out later. Why Reborn was here with him in the forest, what to do about his fight with Ayame. That could come later. Right now two of his friends were in danger.

Thankfully, Reborn didn't question it. He just jumped onto Tsuna's shoulders before Tsuna took to the Sky, leaving behind a trail of orange flames.

\---------------------------------------

**All Seeing**

Nana paused, her gaze sharpening as she looked outside of the window.

"Nana-san?" Bianchi asked, questioning why the older woman had suddenly stopped her folding of clothes.

"Meishi," Nana said. Her feathered companion let out a cheerful chirp. "If the children need help, go."

Meishi let out a thrill and flew out of the window.

Nana turned back to Bianchi. "We should lock up the house," Nana said with a frown. What a terrible day for this to be happening. Tsuna did not return home last night and both Ienari and I-pin had left before she had woke. "There's something dangerous going down in the town. Call Hayato-kun and warn him. Be careful if you choose to go out to get him."

Bianchi nodded and grabbed the phone.

Nana abandoned the laundry and started locking up the house. She should also inform Tsuyoshi.

\---------------------------------------

**Twin Swords**

"Got it Nana, thank you," Tsuyoshi said as he hung up the phone.

"Is Tsuna okay?" Takeshi asked. The tight grip on his sword betrayed his impatience.

"Tsuna didn't come home last night," Tsuyoshi said.

He watched as his son's eyes narrowed. Poor Tsuna. His friends, especially his son, were so overprotective of him. Granted, there was a good reason.

"Meishi informed Nana that Tsuna was fine," Tsuyoshi said. He pulled out his own sword out of the closet. "But we should probably check on Hibari-san. Triad Members are the ones in the streets."

"Got it Oyaji."

\---------------------------------------

**Moving Out**

"There are less than expected," Ienari said, peering at the warehouse with a pair of binoculars. Kaori's intel made it sound like there were over a 100 at their headquarters. Ienari only saw about 60 or so. With their numbers hovering around 30, it was two to one. Not bad odds. Only their inexperience would stop them.

"Should be easy to take them out then," Hachirou said.

"Be careful," Ienari said. "They still have more experience than us. No one except for Koujin have actual fighting experience. We shouldn't be overconfident."

"On your mark, Ienari-kun," Hisen said.

Ienari nodded. "Go. Let's hit them hard and quick before they even know we're here."

\---------------------------------------

**Twin Suns and Stormy Sands**

"Where am I? I'm headed towards my job, Aneki," Hayato said with a huff. Today he had morning shift, before school started. A new shipment of fresh fruits would be arriving that Hayato would have to help unload.

"HELP!"

Hayato turned around to see Irie running down the street with two tall men chasing after him.

"I gotta go Aneki. Yeah, I'll be careful," Hayato said, hanging up his phone. "Double Bomb!" he said, throwing his bombs at the men.

Irie yelped, dodging the bombs. "Gokudera-san! Are you trying to kill me?!" he shouted as he ran past the bomber and ducking for cover.

"You survived," Hayato said curtly.

"You must be Gokudera Hayato," the skinner of the two men said. "Both you and Irie Shoichi can be used as leverage against the Storm Arcobaleno."

"I don't know who you think you are, but if you think I'm an easy target you got another bomb coming at you," Hayato said. He flicked his wrist, summoning another wave of bombs. "Double Bomb!"

The skinner man jumped forward, foot extended. Hayato grabbed Irie and dashed to the left to the dodge the kick. Pushing Irie down, Hayato avoided the halberd the partner had jabbed in their direction.

"Keep up Irie!" Hayato shouted, pulling the redhead with him.

"Easy for you to say!" Irie shouted back.

"Extreme Punch!"

The one carrying the halberd went flying, knocked down by the punch of Ryohei's punch.

"Octopus-head! Irie-kun!," the boxer greeted. "This is an extreme situation!"

"Tell me something I don't know turf-top!" Hayato snapped back. "Who the hell are these guys?"

"Triad," Ryohei answered. "They are the ones after Kyoya all the time. This is the first time I've seen so many!"

Hayato shoved Irie towards Ryohei and charged at the skinner man. He slid between the man's legs, leaving behind a trail of bombs.

With a resounding boom, Hayato turned his attention back to Irie and Ryohei. "We need more information," Hayato said. "These bastards said we were supposed to be leverage against the Storm Arcobaleno. Who else are they targeting?"

"I'm not even particularly close to Hibari-senpai and Fon-san," Irie said.

"But Tsuna-sama is," Hayato pointed out. "Even the baseball idiot and the girls."

"Let's go to the Sawada House," Ryohei said. "The girls are together and Takeshi is with his father. Chrome is heading there with Mukuro and is requesting my help. Mukuro is extremely hurt, she said."

Hayato snorted. "Serves the pineapple head right. Let's go," he said, dragging Irie with him. Ryohei grinned and followed.

\---------------------------------------

**Phone Call**

Koumei scowled at the piece of paper in his hands. Of course this would happen now.

Code Red-3-SKH-NM-1116-Sinapiri

Code Red was already a state of emergency, but the string of numbers and letters that followed it. 3 was the designation for the Triad. SKH, their target was unsurprisingly, Kyoya. The NM for Namimori was expected. 1116, however, meant the Omnivore, was for some reason or another, unable to contain the problem.

Sinapri was nightmare to see written down. It was the blasted code for more than 300 enemies present.

Halfway across the world, Koumei would have to have faith that his son and his friends were strong enough to fend off the Triads until help arrived.

He picked up his phone dialing the number.

"Execute Plan: Demons Run."

\---------------------------------------

**Bird Trap**

Kyoya flew.

His tonfas hit their targets true, flashing silver in the morning sun. He sidestepped as a female Triad member threw a knife coated in storm flames at him. A quick jab into the stomach caused another member to drop like a sack of potatoes. Kyoya jumped over the fallen body, blocking the halberd that was trusted at him.

"Those who disturb Namimori's peace shall be bitten to death," Kyoya said.

He leapt forward, tonfas extended outward, catching a man in the face. He roundhouse kicked another, continuing his attack, leaving behind a trail of bodies.

"Demon," someone whispered, wide eyed.

"How can he be so strong? He's just a child!"

Kyoya narrowed his eyes, slipping back into a readied stance. He let out a low growl, displeased by the appearance of a foreign pack invading his territory. This needed to be corrected, before he hunted down the Omnivore to demand why she had let this problem grow out of control. Then again, the fighting between the Omnivore and Baby Omnivore was probably root of the issue. For a pair of omnivores, they could be such herbivores at times.

"Irritating," Kyoya said. Cloud Flames sprung to life, coating his tonfas. This was more than enough.

Then he _moved_.

Flashes of silver and purple blinded the group of Triad members as they began to drop like flies. A few tried to run away only to find a tonfa driven into their guts.

Observing from a distance, stood two shadows.

"Oh my, they really don't stand a chance do they?" the woman asked.

"Well he is the blood relative of the Storm Arcobaleno," her partner said in a gruff voice.

Ruby red lips stretched into a wife smile. "Well then, let's go play with the baby bird."

Kyoya surveyed the damage. Piles of bodies laid around him, unconscious and groaning. Despite the large number, this had been pathetically easy. Did they honestly think a large number would be able to stop him?

He quickly raised his tonfa, deflecting the jab of a Qiang before vaulting away as another attack came from the right.

"Ah, you dodged that. My, my, you are as good as they say," the woman said, whirling her qiang around her hand. The red tassel around the tip fluttered. "Hello baby bird. I am Yin."

"And I am Jin," the muscular male next to her said. He matched his sister's movement, mimicking the lazy spin of the Qiang around his hand.

Kyoya scowled. The Cloud Flames around his tonfas lit once more. "I will bite you to death."

Yin grinned, leaping forward, her qiang quivering. Kyoya blocked her attack, leaning to the left as Jin's first jab came at his side. The siblings fell into practiced patterned, repeating jabbing at Kyoya as he danced away from the sharp points.

Kyoya let out a hiss as the tip of Yin's qiang burst into Storm Flames, grazing him and eating away at his shirt. Jin didn't let him recover, jumping off his sister's shoulders and diving down with a sweep of Lightning Flames.

The attack didn't connect.

Instead a piercing roar shook the air as a red dragon intercepted Jin's attack. The two Flames exploded outward, blinding everyone in the area.

"Exploding Lotus Kempo!"

"Who!" Yin shouted, shielding her eyes.

"Carnivore," Kyoya hissed.

"The Storm Arcobaleno," Jin said, as the dust cleared revealing Fon's presence.

Fon smiled gently at his nephew. "Hello Kyoya. I hope you don't mind me joining in."

Kyoya scowled harder. "Don't get in my way."

"Of course," Fon said. He watched as Jin and Yin stood in readied stances. Their qiang lit with their respective Flames.

"Let's show these herbivores their place."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -cries- This entire chapter was fight scenes and I didn't GO anywhere. -cries- 
> 
> So, we've finally learn how Tsuna met Kyoko and Hana (and by extension how Giotto ended up in Namimori). If you're a little unsure of the timeline, this is after Tsuna's first meeting with Giotto but before Tsuna met Ryohei and before the Bridge Incident. Yes, Kyoko is a Cloud Flame User -snicker- This is why she was having tea with Alaude back in Chapter 15 (Social Visit). I've always pictures Kyoko as this cute little cloud, you know like the cartoon kind, until you push her too far and she turns into this vicious storm cloud -snicker- This version of Kyoko in particular doesn't take any shit. She is not afraid to throw down and that is part of the reason why she's stronger than Hibari. In the meantime, I've gleefully knocked out Ayame and Mukuro. I'm sure you guys have started to figure out the oddities that pop up every time I write a fight scene... 
> 
>  
> 
> **Also since there was a good amount of interest, I've posted extras/notes/theories as a side story. Please go read[Goddamn Namimori!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7241881/chapters/16441072)**
> 
>  
> 
> Lastly, a couple people have asked me when the R27 stuff is going to happen (and along the same vein there have been people questioning why am I ruining a perfectly good idea with the pairing -in which I must ask why are you reading this story if you don't like my pairings?-) R27 doesn't happen until after the timeskip that occurs somewhere in Book 2. Book 2 starts some time after the Ring Battles are resolved and will at least cover the Future Arc. "But Seito! That's so far away!" Yes, the reason is two fold. 1) I tell you my endgame pairing so you don't invest over a year and 130k+ words of reading and waiting only to find out you really don't like my endgame pairing. 2) I like my characters in relationships to be at least of age (unless I'm writing a teenage romance story but that's not the case here). Age of Consent is low in Japan but prefecture law overrides that bumping it back up to 18, and age of maturity is 20. Plus, despite his actual age, Reborn is physically stuck as a baby. Until the curse gets broken and he's back to adult form, we're not rushing any relationship anywhere. 
> 
> Besides, do you really think these two are going to figure it out before then? There might be a couple hints here and there before the timeskip or things you may interpret as shipping (-laughs- they share a bed more often than not at this point, Reborn is always sitting in Tsuna's lap, etc) but in general it's not a focus right now and won't be for awhile longer. 
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_melee_weapons) for the various Chinese weapons mentioned in this chapter 
> 
>  
> 
> **Bilingual Bonus:**
> 
>  
> 
> Doryuuheki - Earth Style Wall
> 
> Mizu no Maki - Coil of Water 
> 
> Jin - Gold
> 
> Yin - Silver
> 
>  


	23. Triad Arc V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Medical HQ**

Shamal scowled, running a hand through his hair. He did not sign up for this. How exactly did he end up here?

Oh right. Bianchi batted her eyelashes and his students (both of them!) asked. Well Hayato demanded with dynamite and Ryohei just shouted, loudly, in Shamal's ears.

Here, of course, being the Sawada Household.

He had been dragged out of bed early this morning to find an unconscious Ayame and a worried Don Cavallone fretting over her. Shamal didn't get the whole story, didn't really care, all he knew was that Dino had better not be responsible for her ultimate collapse or the kids would eat him alive.

Just as he had finished, Chrome entered the house with Lancia carrying an unconscious and bleeding Mukuro. Ken and Chikusa were right behind her. Minutes after that, a slightly injured Shoichi, Hayato and Ryohei filed in.

"These kids cannot stay out of trouble, can they?" Shamal asked. He nursed his head in his hands and desperately wished for a cigarette right now.

"Not at all," Nana agreed kindly. She pushed a gray teacup with a stylish K on it towards him. The smell of fresh green tea rose, steam curling in the cool morning air.

He graciously accepted the cup, wrapping his hand around it. Shamal did not know how Nana coped with this. Especially when Tsuna had yet to come back. Even more because it was _Tsuna_ and Shamal had been treating that boy's injuries practically every day since he arrived in Namimori.

Goddamn Namimori.

\---------------------------------------

**Raging Typhoon**

Inmen Hisen was born in the wrong era, in the wrong gender, in family that had forgotten its history.

Hisen thrived in battle, actively seeking the thrill of her blood pounding, heart racing and the sound of metal clashing against metal. In many ways, she was not unlike a certain Skylark with a bloodlust so strong that it was barely kept sated due to the constant training and martial arts tournaments Hisen kept entering.

Her parents had wanted a polite daughter, one with grace and good manners. They signed her up for flower arranging classes, dance classes, and cooking class. Hisen dutifully attended those classes, but she also threw herself into the family style, the only other practitioner left was her aging grandmother.

It was a point of confrontation between her and her parents. But since she displayed all the good qualities they had wanted, her parents let her continue on with her studies in the family style. They would pretend she was their perfect princess daughter and Hisen never gave them a reason to doubt otherwise.

But this?

Learning about Dying Will Flames, the mafia, Ienari's role as heir, Hisen could barely contain her excitement. Finally, a challenge, a way to stretch her muscles, to dance on the edge of life and death and she loved it. This was what she lived for, this was what made her feel alive. For a battle genius, the fight was all she ever really cared for.

Hisen was never gentle, never kind, though she pretended to be otherwise. She was not a gentle blessed rain that settled conflict, instead she incited fights. Hisen flooded everything, drowning all.

As she danced, her iron fans razor sharp, weaving and taking down enemy after enemy, Hisen smiled. Blue Flames small but growing, cast an eerie glow around her.

"Come," Hisen said, inviting her next opponent. "Let me drown you in your own blood."

\---------------------------------------

**Defensive Storm**

The Inmen and Mochida families could trace their lineage back to the age of samurai. There was pride, there was honor.

Kensuke was raised no different than Hisen. But unlike his cousin, it was expected for him to continue the family legacy, learning the family swordsmanship style. He was the heir; he was firstborn son. This was expected.

But Kensuke was not like Hisen.

He was no battle genius like Hisen who took to fighting like a duck did to water. He shared no love for battle. He wasn't even sure if he really liked fighting.

With his shinai in hand, he guarded Akemi as best as he could. Unlike Hisen who darted from opponent to opponent with a trail of blue Flames following her deadly dance, Kensuke couldn't even light his Storm Flames outside of a few precious seconds, using it mainly to fend off the Flame attacks thrown his way.

Sweat rolled down his forehead, Kensuke wondered subconsciously why he was here. It was so ingrained to follow Hisen's shadow. Slowly, the tip of shinai dropped as he faltered.

(It would be years later, after his hands are drenched in blood that Kensuke would wonder where was the honor in what he did. By then, it would be too late.)

\---------------------------------------

**Dull Sun**

If you asked Kaori why she had come to a warehouse full of enemies that could potentially kill her, her answer would be simple: "Ienari-kun asked me to."

It didn't really matter who they were, what they did wrong or even if they were dangerous. All that mattered to her was that Ienari had wanted her to come along, had given his attention to her (for however brief a moment) and valued what she had to offer.

Sure, offensively she had little to no attacks. Her strange ability with food could only do so much and it seemed not everyone was susceptible to her poisonous grape tarts. (Of course that assumed she could hit people with said tarts.) At best, she could only hide behind Mochida-senpai and feed him her chocolate chip cookies to increase his speed and heal his meager wounds with her new Sun Flames.

"C'mon Mochida-senpai," Kaori whined as she saw the Kendo Captain falter once more. "Ienari-kun is expecting us to pull our weight!"

She didn't really care what Mochida was doing, only that she had no real means to attack without Mochida.

All that really mattered to Kaori was Ienari's praise and attention.

\---------------------------------------

**Bounded Cloud**

Fuun didn't care what the others were doing. He drove a kunai through another enemy's throat, not even stopping to check if they were dead. He trusted his skills far too much.

He moved like the shadow he was, propagating his kunais. Despite being the youngest of everyone present, he was also the one with the most experience. This was nothing new, the killing and the bloodlust.

"Koujin!"

Fuun looked to see Ienari pointing to Akemi and Mochida who were surrounded by enemies. Huffing, Fuun threw ten kunais in their direction, eliminating the threats.

He followed it up by dashing across the field and slashing the enemy that was sneaking up on Ienari.

"Thanks," Ienari said.

Fuun shrugged. He had an investment to protect. Agreeing to be Ienari's Cloud Guardian would bind his family to Vongola and take them to new levels of greatness.

\---------------------------------------

**Lazy Lightning**

Of everyone present, Hachirou was the one who lingered behind. He took care of the remaining enemies, the ones that managed to survive Koujin and Hisen's rampage. Lightning Flames turned out to be a great makeshift stun gun it seemed.

Hachirou wasn't all that invested in this fight. He was here because Ienari was his best friend and Hachirou always provided backup for Ienari. Really though, he found this tedious at best.

Sluggishly, he followed after his friend, careful not draw unnecessary attention to himself.

\---------------------------------------

**Dark Mist**

Hideki was calm and level headed. For a civilian teenager who had no previous exposure to the mafia, much less possessed any fighting ability, this was remarkable of him. Still, his brush flickered, casting elements into life. He mixed it with his indigo colored Flames, thwarting and confusing his enemies.

Cold and methodical, Hideki carried through with Ienari's plan with ease. It was a straightforward plan. Learning about the mafia was a surprise, but for Hideki who was use the shady world of politics it was just another shadow he was learning to absorb.

He couldn't stop the razor sharp grin that spread across his face at the thought of a whole another chessboard to learn.

\---------------------------------------

**Powerful Sky**

Ienari and Tsuna were twins. This was an undisputed fact.

For all that they were unalike, there was no denying that in his own way, Ienari was a strong Sky. Their methods were contrasting and they attracted different people into their scope of influences, but ultimately Ienari had the potential to be as strong as Tsuna. Nono's seal might set Ienari back when it came to terms of Dying Will Flames, however it was nothing that time couldn't help fix.

It should be remembered that while Tsuna was average at best in terms of academics and even sports, Ienari on the other hand was a top student. He was not a battle genius like Hisen or Hibari nor was he a genius with an IQ over 180 like Hideki or Gokudera. He did have sheer determination and a single mind focus.

That was why, despite Reborn's initial calculations, Ienari's bo staff was lit with the orange Sky Flames.

'Stronger, stronger!' Ienari's mind chanted over and over.

As the last opponent went down, Ienari smugly surveyed the damaged he and his friends had caused. All 60 enemies were down, some dead at the hands of Hisen and Fuun, but Ienari couldn't bring himself to care. He was going to be a mafia don; the path was going to be bloodstained.

But as long as that path lead to power, it would be worth it in the end.

\---------------------------------------

**Territorial**

Kyoko was not a normal Cloud. Not quite. Not like Kyoya who fit the description to a T. She was not aloof; she enjoyed her friends and family too much. She was not unbound; she willing bond herself to Tsuna, to her brother, to Hana, to everyone she cared about. She didn't crave the fight; she didn't mind fighting, didn't mind the bloodlust, but she never went out of her way to look for a fight. She even got along perfectly fine with her personal Mist counterpart. Chrome was amazing and Kyoko would fight anyone who disagreed with her. (Chrome was hers, Kyoya-senpai. HERS. Kyoko found Chrome first.)

But like all Clouds, Kyoko was territorial. (This was part of the reason why Alaude was so baffled that there were two strong Clouds in Namimori. Normally they would have either torn each other apart or one would have submitted to the other.)

It probably helped that Kyoko and Kyoya were territorial about different things. Kyoya was territorial about Namimori in general, giving little thought to the herbivores that lived in the area. Kyoko was territorial about people, especially about the people she cared about.

Their friends were the only place they overlapped. Kyoko and Kyoya had long come to an agreement that it was better to work together instead of apart. Without the two of them, their friends wouldn't last the week, _especially Tsuna_.

(For their Sky, the world would burn if only Tsuna asked.)

In the mafia world, there was a rule that you never purposely provoke a Cloud. Never. The resulting destruction was never worth it. It was almost on par with insulting a Sky. It was stupid, suicidal and never to be done unless you knew without an absolute doubt that you could win against said Cloud. It was no different when applied to Kyoko and Kyoya.

Kyoko was territorial about people she cared about.

She cared about Haru and I-pin.

The Triad just kidnapped Haru and I-pin.

Kyoko was beyond provoked. She was pissed and there was going to be blood once she found the people responsible.

"Kyoko," Hana said. Her voice was firm, stern, caution, gentle and resigned all at once.

Kyoko pulled back the bloodlust long enough to look at the trail of bodies she was leaving behind. Hana followed after her, protecting Kyoko's back like she always did. The coppery taste of blood in the air did little to sate Kyoko's bloodlust. Two of her precious people was still missing and Kyoko wasn't going to rest until she saw Haru and I-pin safe and sound.

Hana looked at her, a touch concerned. Kyoko knew her viciousness often made Hana uncomfortable (it was why Kyoko never really cut loose when Hana was around).

"We're no close to finding Haru and I-pin," Kyoko said sourly. She had promised, never again, never would she left the people she loved and cared about get hurt. It was times like this that reminded her how she would always fail because it was never enough. (Never strong enough, never able to prevent, never able to stop, always stuck to reacting, but being preventive would be stiffening and would wilt the very people she was trying to protect.)

"No, but it looks like we're about to find out," Hana said, pointing to the sky.

Flying towards them was a green falcon.

"Meishi!" Kyoko said.

Meishi chirped, gliding down to settle down on Hana's offered arm.

"Hi!" Meishi said in a bright voice; her chirps translating into words that both Kyoko and Hana had learned to hear. "I found Haru and I-pin."

"Lead the way, Meishi," Kyoko said. "We'll get them back."

\---------------------------------------

**Regrouping**

"Shajiku no Ame!"

Duality of two voices, young and old rang, followed by a surge of Rain Flames, knocking out their opponents.

"There are more than usual," Tsuyoshi said, looking around the twenty or so Triad members they had managed to knock out.

"Yeah," Takeshi agreed. Shigure Kintoki flickering back to its default bamboo form. "It's weird that Neesan would let it get out of control like this."

"That we haven't seen her is cause for concern too," Tsuyoshi said. Ayame would normally be in the heart of this fight. She would also be running communications as well and yet they were still moving disjointed and blind.

"Takeshi!"

Takeshi looked up to see Tsuna flying towards them. Tsuna touched down, orange Flames and all. Reborn sitting on Tsuna's shoulder, face betraying none of his emotions. Tsuna on the other hand, eyes orange and worried, looked at Takeshi and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Takeshi didn't hesitate. He had dealt with Tsuna's disappearances far too often and swept Tsuna into a tight hug. Finally, Takeshi could breathe a little easier at the simple knowledge that the most troublesome member of their group of friends was safe and sound.

There would not be a repeat of the Kyoto Spring Trip.

"Takeshi," Tsuna said, returning the hug. "Is Haru and I-pin alright?"

Takeshi pulled away. Frowning, he said, "I don't know? None of the girls are answering. We were on our way to check on Kyoya-senpai since we figured the Triads would target him first. I know he can take care of himself, but the numbers of enemies we're encountering is rather high."

"Has this happen before?" Reborn asked.

"Once," Tsuyoshi said. "But never with this many. Usually a small group sneaks in and Ayame is enough to scramble them and leaving them confused and deceived as to what they saw in Namimori."

"She's a Mist user?" Reborn asked.

"No," Tsuna said. "She knows Engetsu."

Takeshi's gaze sharpened as a look of understanding flashed across Reborn's face. When had the kid met Engetsu? He filed it away, something to discuss with Ayame later on.

A chill ran down Takeshi's spine, his instinct screaming at him. Before he could do anything, Tsuna had already moved. Orange Flames flooded the area, burning the barrage of arrows that just rained down on them.

Following up Tsuna's attack, Takeshi stepped forward. Shigure Kintoki flickering back into its sword form, gleaming. "Sakamaku Ame!" he shouted, summoning a wall of Rain Flames to deflect the swing of a meteor hammer.

"There are three of them," Tsuyoshi said.

"Five," Tsuna corrected. "Three archers, one with the meteor hammer and one who hasn't revealed themselves. More are on the way, probably."

"They're not holding back," Reborn remarked. "These are some high level opponents."

"It was bound to happen," Tsuyoshi said. "We've been pulling the wool over their eyes for far too long. I'm surprised it took them this long to figure it out."

Takeshi laughed. "We can handle this," he said confidently. "How hard can it be compared to the Death March?"

Tsuna looked at him miserably. "If we're comparing it to the Death March, we've already passed the Kyoto Spring Trip threshold, Takeshi," Tsuna said exasperatedly.

"What's the Death March?" Reborn asked Tsuyoshi.

Tsuyoshi shook his head. "A training trip that well, the kids came out stronger, but sometimes I wonder what I was thinking agreeing to it. Ayame was there to make sure that they didn't kill each other or die, but as the name implied it wasn't exactly an easy training trip."

Tsuna sighed once more. "I'll take care of the archers. I have the ranged attacks and flight ability for that. Takeshi, Tsuyoshi-san can you two handle the meteor hammer user?"

Both Takeshi and Tsuyoshi nodded.

Tsuna turned to Reborn. "Do you want the unknown or to come with me, Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

"I'll take care of the unknown," Reborn said. Leon transformed, falling into familiar gun form.

"Be careful Tsuna," Takeshi said.

"You too."

\---------------------------------------

**Gold and Silver**

"Impossible," Yin spat out. She kneeled to the ground, chest heaving. Jin laid some distance away, unconscious. Their qiangs laid broken, shattered in pieces at the raw power they had come up against them.

Standing before her, looming down at them, Kyoya scoffed. This hadn't been a challenge at all.

"Impressive Kyoya," Fon murmured in his ear. "You've gotten much stronger since the last time we've sparred."

It had been two years since Fon sparred properly against Kyoya in a serious match. It was amazing to see how much he had grown in those two years. It would be sooner, rather than later that Kyoya would be able to stand on equal ground with him.

Kyoya grunted in irritation.

Fon jumped down from Kyoya's shoulder. "Now," he said. "Won't you tell me who is behind this?"

"What does it matter?" Yin sneered. "You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over."

"I won't let you touch Kyoya," Fon said fiercely.

"Which makes your student the perfect substitute," Yin said smug.

Both Kyoya and Fon growled. Fon jumped forward, knocking Yin to her back. "Where is she?" Fon asked, pacifier glowing an ugly red and the pressure of the area dropping into a choking heat. Gone was the gentle eye of the storm and here was the storm's rage.

Fear reflected in Yin's brown eyes. All confidence she had was broken "A building, two miles from here, near the river," she choked out.

"If anything happens to anyone under my protection, I will destroy the Triad," Fon vowed. This had gone far enough. He had already lost his mother and sister to the Triad's games. He had spent years in fear that his nephew would be next. He would not lose I-pin to them.

"This way Carnivore," Kyoya said.

Fon followed after this nephew. He had a student to rescue.

**Father and Son**

Despite being retired, Tsuyoshi was still a gifted swordsman. It left him with great pride at how far Takeshi had come. With Takeshi's original obsession with baseball and his own bloodied past, Tsuyoshi was perfectly comfortable with the idea of Shigure Soen Ryu dying with him.

That had changed with Takeshi meeting Tsuna. Tsuyoshi owned Tsuna a debt of gratitude. The friendship offered, the coping after Takeshi's own attempt at his life, the insightful trip to France, Tsuna had brought back the real smile on Takeshi's face, allowing his son to settle as a person.

Then came the reality of Tsuna's life, the dark underworld that Tsuyoshi thought he had escaped, and the brilliant madness that was Ayame. Suddenly Takeshi had a goal, something he wanted to protect. With that in mind, Takeshi had wanted to learn Shigure Soen Ryu.

Tsuyoshi had decided then to teach Takeshi.

"Shibuki Ame!" Tsuyoshi shouted, using the wind generated to veer the meteor hammer off its course.

"Tsubame no Kuchibashi!" Takeshi shouted. He rapidly thrust forward multiple times, each slash flying at the attacker like a flock of sparrows.

Tsuyoshi grinned. He truly was proud of his son.

\---------------------------------------

**Targeting System**

Up in the air, Tsuna flew, dodging barrage of arrows. He had already pinpointed two archers; the third one should reveal themselves soon. There! "Weapon Form," he said. His four golden swords materialized. It was a good thing there were only three archers. If there had been more than five, Tsunayoshi would have had more trouble.

"Raito Reiji!"

Three of his swords flew, firing off the beams of light at the locations Tsuna had pinpointed. With the archers taken care of, he landed back on the ground.

"Where's Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn popped out of nowhere. "The unknown opponent has been taken care of," he said smugly, adjusting his fedora.

"I just got a call from Kyoya-senpai," Takeshi said. "He and Fon are fine. They have I-pin and Haru's location."

"Did he say where?" Tsunayoshi asked warily. Knowing Kyoya though, the answer was probably no.

"Nope!"

Tsuna sighed. It was just like Kyoya to run off to a fight without any backup. Fon was at least with him, but Tsuna doubted the Storm Arcobaleno was in any mindset to hold his nephew back. Not with I-pin on the line.

"Then let's go back to my house and find Meishi," Tsuna said. "I'm still worried that I haven't heard from anyone else. Neesan isn't answering her phone, nor are Kyoko-chan or Hana. We should check Neesan's place too. I don't know what happened to Chrome either."

Tsuyoshi nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Ayame's place first, then yours."

Tsuna took a deep breath and tried to relax. Hyper Intuition was no longer ringing as loudly as before and he took as a sign that despite whatever danger Haru and I-pin were in, someone was already assisting.

He hoped the rest of his friends were safe as well.

\---------------------------------------

**Riverside**

A battle raged on the riverside.

A clash of metal against metal, of blue, purple, and red Flames.

"Impressive," Mao said. He held his Jian out in front of him, poised to attack. "I couldn't imagine there were two powerful warriors here in Namimori."

"Where is Haru and I-pin?" Kyoko demanded.

Kyoko and Hana followed Meishi to an empty building. It was scheduled to be demolished in the next couple months, currently only facing delays to prevent it. So it wasn't much of a surprise that the Triad had decided to take it over in the meantime to use it as a base.

They hadn't gotten far before Mao had found them. Kyoko had to admit the man was good. She didn't dare go full out, not in the middle of Namimori. Hana struggled to keep up as well. They probably had more raw power, but in the face of his greater experience, it was an even match.

"As if I would tell you that," Mao said. He raised his Jian to the sky. "Mizu no Maki!"

Hana darted forward, naginata spinning. "Hajikeru Honoo!" she called out. Her Storm Flames sliced through Mao's attack. Kyoko followed, firing off several bullets that buried themselves into the ground behind Mao.

"Tired?" Mao mocked. "Your aim is drifting."

Kyoko merely let her Cloud Flames build up at the tip of her guns. She let them fly. "Doshaburi!"

Mao jumped back, coating the attack in Rain Flames to veer it off course. He smirked. "You're making this too easy."

"I could say the same thing," Kyoko said. "Kibaku Jirai!"

The ground around Mao exploded violently. Each bullet Kyoko had buried in the ground behind him, the ground Mao had jumped backwards on, had turned into a mini explosion.

The dust settled, revealing a badly injured Mao. His left arm hung uselessly, blood dripping down his fingers. His clothes burnt and torn. "How?" he snarled, his calm composure finally gone.

"You got more to worry about than that," Hana said. She slammed the butt of her naginata into the ground. "Ganchūrō!"

Pillars of earth rose from the ground, surrounding Mao, trapping him in place.

Meanwhile, Kyoko jumped into the air, her guns shifting back to her sniper as energy began to build on the tip. It pulsed, an orb of red, orange and black. "Shotto Bomu!" she shouted, firing off the attack.

Mao looked at horror as the attack flew at him, unable to escape. Kyoko landed to the ground as the explosion engulfed the area. It cleared, leaving a giant crater. Nothing was left.

"Sometimes," Hana said, letting her naginata return to her pendent form, "I worry how easily you can do that."

Kyoko pursed her lips. She understood Hana's concern. The idea of killing someone use to horrify her, until it became very clear to Kyoko that no one else was going to do the courtesy of same honor of fighting until defeat. Between protecting her friends and the life of an enemy, it was an easy choice. Perhaps the fact that Kyoko's ability left no body behind, completely vaporized, didn't impact Kyoko as much.

Still, Ryohei, Hana and Tsuna were the only ones of the original group who had yet to kill anyone. Kyoko and Kyoya, as the strongest and always the first to battle, it had come sooner than later. Kyoya had probably taken his first kill at even younger age than what he was willing to admit. Kyoko and Takeshi had found it necessary during the chaos that was the Kyoko Spring Trip.

Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong during the Kyoko Spring Trip. As much fun as they make of the trip, it was equally horrifying as well. Still, better to treat it with cheer than wallow in misery over something that couldn't be prevented. It had been an exciting chaotic trip and Kyoko liked that they could laugh about it and tease each other about it. Truthfully, they had yet to land in a situation that was as strange and weird as the Kyoko Spring Trip again.

"Carnivore."

Kyoko looked to see Kyoya had arrived with Fon in tow.

"You're late, senpai," she lightly teased. "We already took care of the idiot who kidnapped Haru and I-pin."

He looked at the crater and gave her a razor sharp grin. "Good."

"Hey, we still have to find them," Hana shouted. Meishi was settled on her shoulder.

Kyoko agreed. Haru and I-pin first.

The four of them cleared out the entire building, removing whatever leftover Triad members they had discovered as they went.

Finally, they opened the last door to find an unconscious Haru and anxious I-pin locked inside.

"Shisho!" I-pin shouted.

Fon hugged his student. "I-pin, are you alright?" he asked, worried.

I-pin nodded, but Kyoko could already see the bruises around I-pin's wrists and the cut lip. No, definitely not alright. Her Cloud instincts bristled and it was a shame she couldn't kill the man responsible again.

"Home?" I-pin asked.

"Let's go," Kyoko said gently.

At least this nightmare was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Bilingual Bonus:**  
>  Tsubame no Kuchibashi - This Beccata di Rondine (just with it's Japanese name instead)  
> Raito Reiji - Light Rage  
> Mizu no Maki - Coil of Water  
> Hajikeru Honoo - Flame Burst  
> Doshaburi - Cloud Burst  
> Kibaku Jirai - Explosive Landmines  
> Ganchūrō - Pillar Prison  
> Shotto Bomu - Shot Bomb
> 
> * * *
> 
> And that brings an end to the Triad Arc.
> 
> The fight scenes are over! -cheers- I don't know why I keep doing that to myself. Ahaha. Ienari's Guardians, the foils to Tsuna's friends, foil to the original idea of a Vongola Guardian was. Hideki is probably the closest to a Mist Guardian, but Hisen doesn't calm people, Kensukue doesn't want to be relentless, Kaori doesn't use her own body, Fuun binds himself, and Hachirou doesn't draw attention to himself. Ienari has always had the potential to be strong, it's all he wants.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. It feeds the motivation to write faster. Tell me what you thought about the fight scen


	24. Triad Arc VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.
> 
> Thanks for all the support guys! 8D

**Supernatural Reveal**

Fon wearily but happily welcomed the sight of the Sawada Household. By now the adrenaline was fading and he was coping with the very idea of how close he came to losing his student and nephew. (Though, given the strength that Fon saw Kyoya display, it was entirely possible that his nephew could have and would have taken on all the enemies he could have found and come out none the worst.)

Dino was the one to greet them. "There you are," the blond said. "Who needs Shamal?"

"I-pin and Haru," Hana said, pointing to Kyoko who was carrying I-pin and Kyoya who was carrying Haru.

"Shamal has set up in the living room. One of the guest rooms has Mukuro currently and Ayame is in Tsuna's room."

"What's wrong with Neesan?" Kyoko asked sharply.

Dino hesitated. "Well, ah, she collapsed on me this morning? Shamal said it was just exhaustion."

Fon watched amused as his nephew and the two girls growl at this knowledge.

"Stupid Omnivores," Kyoya hissed. He looked at Hana, scowling. "Fix this," he demanded, before pushing past Dino to deliver Haru to Shamal.

"This fight has gone long enough," Kyoko said, irritated before following after Kyoya.

It had been an eye opener to see the brown haired girl at the riverside. Fon had known she was a fighter of some sort. He could see it in her stride and the way she held herself. Still, to find her with a smoking crater and inferring from Kyoya's words, she was not just a beginner but someone his nephew respected as a fellow carnivore. Using Kyoya as a measuring stick of skill, that meant Sasagawa Kyoko was nowhere near as harmless as she first appeared.

What a mystery Namimori and its inhabitants were.

"Is everyone all right?" Tsuna came around the corner.

"I thought Shamal was still looking you over," Dino pointed out.

Hana crossed her arms. "Yes, what was this about that you didn't come home last night?"

Tsuna gave a sheepish laugh. "I may have… fallen asleep outside yesterday? Reborn was with me and Dino-nii I'm actually not injured! I'm perfectly fine!"

Fon left Hana to scold Tsuna. Hana's words were alarming. What did she mean that Tsuna had not returned home yesterday? If that was indeed the case, given how much trouble Tsuna normally got into, he would not begrudge her lecturing the brunet.

Dino followed him into kitchen where Reborn could be found. The hitman looked calm, drinking from his green coffee cup.

"Reborn," Fon greeted.

"Fon," Reborn said. "Dino, let me borrow your phone."

Dino blinked, but didn't question it. He handed over his sleek silver phone to Reborn. Fon watched as the minute Reborn touched the phone, it went flying across the room.

Fon's nerves were already teetering on the edge. It had been a long morning and he instantly snapped to attention. Next to him, Dino pulled out his whip, searching for the same enemy.

Reborn, however, just growled. "Engetsu," he said. "Please give the phone back."

Eyes snapping to Reborn, Fon stared in mild shock. That… was downright polite for Reborn.

"Reborn?" Dino asked.

Reborn didn't look at them, staring resolutely at the spot where the phone floated in mid-air.

Then, there was shimmer and there stood a glowing seven tailed silver fox. 'No,' Fon thought, eyes growing wide. 'A kitsune.' His mind sputtered to a halt. They were real?!

"What was is that?" Dino asked.

"A kitsune," Reborn remarked. "One that doesn't want me to make a phone call."

"Don't be so hard on him, Engetsu."

Fon felt as if someone had punched him hard in the stomach. There in the doorway, stood a man who should be by all accounts dead: Vongola Primo. From the sputtering next to him, Dino recognized him as well.

"Giotto," Reborn greeted. "I would like the phone back."

Giotto looked at the silver kitsune. Engetsu turned its snort upward, before bounding out the door, pass Giotto.

"Well, it seems that she doesn't want to," Giotto said. "I'm not someone who can force her to listen to me. Your phone is a lost cause."

"What is going on?" Fon finally asked. His patience had reached its end and he was in no mood to deal with any of Reborn's games.

"Welcome to Namimori and the Sawada Household," Giotto remarked. His smiled as if there was an inside joke that Fon wasn't privy to.

"I told you," Reborn said. "You won't believe me until you meet them for yourselves."

Fon's mind whirled back to one of the first conversations he had with Reborn about the strangeness that was Namimori. This… Giotto was the one who didn't eat? Didn't Reborn also say he had suspected that ghosts were the ones eating off the white plate with blue moons before he had discovered the plate belonged to Ayame?

"The one who glows, that is the kitsune Engetsu?" Fon asked, remembering the other mysteries that Reborn had explained to him.

"Correct," Giotto said.

"I'm lost," Dino said, throwing his hands up in confusion.

"I'll explain," Giotto offered. "The first thing you should know is that Namimori is a bit of a supernatural hot spot."

Fon closed his eyes, trying not to feel overwhelmed by the information being provided to him. Ghosts. Of course. Then again, how strange was it compared to being cursed into a baby and Dying Will Flames?

But ghosts?

\---------------------------------------

**Waking Up**

Ayame woke up, feeling warm, safe and loved. She took a deep breath. The exhaustion still lingered, but the edge of the weariness had dulled. Carefully, she sat up, noting that she was in Tsuna's bedroom.

Ah, right. She had collapsed.

The wards had settled, so she took it as a sign that the kids had managed to handle whatever the issue was.

"Neesan."

Ayame blinked, noticing for the first time that Tsuna was standing in the room with her. He stood, fidgeting slightly as if he couldn't make up his mind to come closer to her or retreat.

"Tsuna," Ayame said slowly. He didn't look angry or upset which was an improvement over the last time they had parted ways. She hoped it would last. Frankly, she was too tired to deal with emotions right now.

Tsuna quirked a crooked smile at her. "Hana threatened to lock us in a room together until we worked it out whatever problem we're having. Everyone is kinda annoyed and worried."

"That does sound like her," Ayame remarked dryly. She gestured to Tsuna's desk chair. Another flick of her hand and privacy wards spells were casted. She didn't need anyone else in the house to overhear this conversation.

Tsuna pulled the chair up to the bed, taking a seat.

"Do you regret what I decided to do?" Ayame asked.

"No," Tsuna said, shaking his head. "I… understand the necessity of why you did and you more or less told me it was going to happen eventually. What I want to know is why."

"Because there's precedent," Ayame said.

"But why is the plan to kill you?" Tsuna cried out. "Why have you gone so far as to implant a bomb in you? You've always told me to value my life, how can you treat your life so carelessly?!"

Ayame took another deep breath. The familiar feeling of grief, of hysteria, of insanity swelled before she forced it back. "Not today, not even soon, but remind me to tell you one day the story of Kagennotsuki," she said, voice breaking.

She took another deep breath. "As for the bomb, it's not really a bomb and no I'm not going to tell you more about it or that I'm going to disable it," Ayame said, collecting herself. "The bomb has been in me for a very long time, Tsuna. Before I even met you. The idea was so that no one I knew would ever be forced to kill me should it ever come down that. The only one who can activate it is Engetsu and I have an unbreakable vow with her that it would only be activated under certain circumstances."

"But-"

"No," Ayame said, cutting Tsuna off. "I trust Engetsu with this. I have no desire to stain your hands with my death. It's just a precaution, Tsuna. I value my life greatly. No desire to move to the afterlife. It's quite boring there, truth be told."

"Precedent or not, I still don't understand why this is even a possibility or not," Tsuna complained. "You're not going to go crazy!"

"Asher said the same thing," Ayame said with a huff. "Tier didn't even blink. He had already considered the possibility, I think."

Tsuna hesitated. "You never talk about them," he said softly.

Ayame shrugged. What was there to say? They were gone and it hurt too much to think about them.

"So they knew about the bomb too. You've had it that long?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes," Ayame said. "Tier had the activation sequence was well. Asher didn't want it and you know if you ask I will give it to you as well."

Tsuna looked at her horrified. "No!"

"If that's what you want," Ayame said.

"How can you just trust something like that to people?" Tsuna asked, frustration leaking into his voice.

Ayame felt a touch of pity. Trust… was a tricky issue for the both of them. In many ways, Ayame had it easier. She trusted practically no one. The only person she did trust inexplicitly was Tsuna. She trusted smaller degrees to other people. She trusted Kyoya and Kyoko would be strong enough to keep the small group of friends out of trouble. She trusted Shoichi's genius and lead in their experiment. But her secrets, her fears, her lies and truths? Tsuna was the only one who got to hear it all.

Tsuna on the other hand, wanted to trust, did trust, but it was so cautious and fragile. Ienari was the first betrayal, shattering Tsuna's ability to trust into complete dust. Iemitsu's lies and neglect was the second hit. The third was the madness, the effects of the miasma on the town and the impacts being called Dame-Tsuna and bullied day in and out. She had feared these last several weeks that their fight would have been the fourth.

Like her, Tsuna trusted to smaller degrees. He even trusted to larger ones, trusted that his friends would have his back. But there was still this lingering doubt, the idea that as soon as something better came along, he would be dropped like a hot potato. The idea that he still wasn't important that, that if he gave up and faded away, no one would mourn, or at least wouldn't mourn for long. The idea that he was expendable.

Ayame had to look no further than Tsuna's friendship with Hayato. She could see that Tsuna valued Hayato's friendship. It was steady enough that Tsuna was willing to trust Hayato with some of the secrets that his other friends already knew. The knowledge of the Bridge Incident that came out so early in their friendship, that knowledge which was freely offered. But she could also see that Tsuna hesitated, still believing that by choosing not to be Decimo, Hayato would eventually leave, follow Ienari to the 'greatness' of Vongola.

Trying to convince Tsuna that he was valued, that he could believe them when they said they would stay with him forever, had been a losing battle. That Reborn, who forged, strengthen, augmented Tsuna's resolve, managed to convince Tsuna of that was downright miraculous. For that alone, Ayame would forever be grateful.

"Well, I imagine it has to do with a person's personality," Ayame said. "Tier was the type who had to know everything, had to plan for everything. I trusted him, he trusted me and the best way to show him that was to trust that knowledge to him. Asher on the other hand didn't want to know because he trusted that I would never go crazy. His faith in people was… immeasurable."

She smiled wryly at him. "In that regard, you're very much like Asher."

Tsuna returned her smile. "I'm sorry for getting so angry with you, Neesan," Tsuna said quietly.

"It's well within your right to get angry," Ayame said. "I'm aware of my bad habits of doing things without permission." It was a miracle that Tsuna didn't get angry at her more often, given the way she would carefully rearrange his life.

"But you always have the best intentions," he said fondly. "I mean it, Neesan. I don't regret this."

Ayame felt something settle within her. It seemed like their fight was finally over.

"Where do we go from here?" Tsuna asked.

"Well," Ayame said. "There's currently whispers that Nono is planning on bring Ienari back to Italy. Vongola is worried. Nono wants his heir close by, just in case."

"Am I bad person to sacrifice my own brother like this?" Tsuna wondered. "It was something Mukuro had originally said during our fight."

"You're allowed to be selfish, Tsuna," Ayame explained. In fact, she worried how Tsuna wasn't selfish enough. That he would willingly martyr himself for the sake of others.

"I know. It's just… the mafia. I know becoming a Don will be destroy me. I know Ienari is stronger than me, that he has never accepted anything less than the best. He will thrive in a way that I won't in that world," Tsuna said.

"That's because you have a gentle heart."

Tsuna gave another crooked smile. "But I'm also the oldest and despite our differences he is still my younger brother. This burden should have fallen to me first."

Ayame closed her eyes. This, this was exactly what she was worried about. Ienari didn't deserve this chance from Tsuna. Ayame could plan and predict everything, but Tsuna's heart always laid it to ruin. "Do you want to be Decimo?" she asked, fearing just a little what Tsuna would say.

Tsuna shook his head. "No. I absolutely do not want to be Decimo. Is there really no other way?"

"Well, Plan A…" Ayame trailed off. "But that one you find unacceptable."

Tsuna turned his gaze to out his window, watching the clouds roll across the blue sky. "Everything is going to come a head soon," he stated quietly.

"Time is running out," Ayame agreed. Soon, they would know if Plan C would succeed or not. It had to at this point. Failing to do so…

War would be at their doorstep.

\---------------------------------------

**Demons Run**

Koumei skidded to a stop, pulling off his helmet. It had been a long trip between the plane and the motorcycle he had rented, but he had finally arrived. Deep the mountains of China, hidden among the forest stood the heart of the Triad.

"You're late Koumei."

"Otousama," Koumei said, politely bowing to his father.

Hibari Keii was the current head of the family, a position that Koumei would eventually inherit as his eldest son. Despite his frail appearance, Keii was still one of the most deadly warriors in the clan. In his youth, he was a bit of mercenary, a bounty hunter for both the underworld and the government.

Keii tapped the wooden cane against the rock he was resting against. "The rest of the family had already arrived and finished without you," Keii said. "All that's left is to execute the leaders."

The Hibari clan was infamous throughout the world. A clan of warriors of the many various different shades and paths in life. The family valued honor, pride, and justice, but to each individual, it meant vastly different things. Those same words led to different walks in life. For Koumei it led to the government, to his younger sister the life of an assassin, to his uncle as a black ops agent, to his aunt as a judge and many other ways.

To live life freely, unbound and without regrets, with only your personal honor and justice to guide you, that was the Hibari way. The one thing they had tying them together was the bond of family. When a Hibari called, the clan answered. It was why the name Hibari struck terror into the hearts who knew of their exploits.

Koumei walked into the house where some of his family had gather, watching their prisoners. Sliding the open the door, Koumei saw the tied up Triad leaders on the ground. These were the men responsible for the dark underworld in China. These were the men that threaten his son. These were the men were responsible for his wife's death.

He pulled out his gun, taking aim at the forehead of the first leader. "For my family, I'll bite you death."

Shots rang.

\---------------------------------------

**Sensible Adults**

"Tell me," Shamal said with just an edge of desperation, "that the kids don't normally get into these situations all the time?" He was use to craziness. It came with the territory of being an assassin in a dark and shady world that had access to rainbow colored flames.

But Namimori was just another pot and kettle all together. He was use to kids getting in over their heads. Just look at how many times he had to haul Hayato out of trouble. But taking on the Triad? Ghosts? Spirits? Even this blind game of hide and go seek they were playing with Vongola that Shamal was busy ignoring that it was happening.

Both Nana and Tsuyoshi looked at him with a touch of pity.

"At least you weren't here for the Death March," Tsuyoshi said calmly. He poured a shot of sake for Nana and Shamal. The three of them were sitting on the patio outside as the kids bustle inside.

"Or the Kyoto Spring Trip," Nana mused.

"How do you two cope with this?" Shamal asked in disbelief.

"Practice," the other two adults chorused.

"Why aren't more adults concerned about this?"

"Kyoko-chan and Ryohei-kun's parents work overseas," Nana said. "Hana-chan's parents are in the dark I believe. Chrome-chan's parents, Ayame has custody of her at the moment."

"Koumei, Kyoya's father, also works overseas, but he is very much aware of what is going on in here," Tsuyoshi continued. "Ayame's parents… well we've never met them and she's never mentioned them."

"Basically you two are it," Shamal concluded.

"Oh I don't know about that," Tsuyoshi said with a grin. "You're shaping up to be a good influence in the kids' lives. Hayato has mentioned you more than enough times and Ryohei always has a good word about your teaching."

"Reborn-san and Fon-san have been extremely helpful since arriving," Nana agreed. "My sons are growing under Reborn's tutorage."

"You two do realize that we're all assassins?" Shamal asked frankly.

"If we're basing off of that," Tsuyoshi laughed, "then the only qualified adult here is Nana. Even Koumei had a brief stint as one before deciding he wanted to be a government agent."

"Holy shit," Shamal said, finally recognizing Tsuyoshi. "You're Phantom Rain. The Japanese swordsman assassin who vanished nearly two decades ago. Your hits were so flawless people weren't even sure you really exist."

"Fell in love, got married, had a kid and cut all ties," Tsuyoshi said. "It was easier for me since very few people knew who I really was and what I looked like. Rain Flames made it easy to dull their senses."

"Is there anything normal about this town?" Shamal asked, cradling his head.

"There's plenty," Nana said, sipping her sake.

"You're just in the heart of the strange part and have no means of escape," Tsuyoshi said in good cheer.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us," Nana said.

Shamal drowned down his shot in one gulp. Oh joy.

\---------------------------------------

**Lightning Child**

Haru woke up slowly. Her eyes fluttered open as her mind tried to grasp what had happened.

"Take it easy," a voice said kindly next to her.

Haru turned to see Kyoko sitting beside her. "Kyoko-chan," she said weakly. She recognized this as one of the many guest rooms in the Sawada Household.

"You're safe," Kyoko said. "We found both you and I-pin and the people responsible for hurting you are gone."

"I-pin?" Haru asked. Her eyes darted around, trying to find the small girl.

"She's fine," Kyoko said. "I promise."

"I couldn't protect her," Haru swallowed.

"About that," Kyoko said, hesitating. "I-pin mentioned you have Lightning Flames? They're green and well look like lightning."

"Oh, that green light," Haru said, mind flashing back to the strange power she had used when that man lunged at her and I-pin. "What was that?"

"Well if you want to learn how to use them, we know a teacher," Kyoko said.

Haru thought about it, the fear she had faced, her inability to protect I-pin. "I want to learn," she said firmly. The next time something like that happened, she wanted to be able to protect her friends.

She watched as Kyoko turned to a seemly empty spot in the room. "Lampo-san, she can't see you yet. You have to shift down," Kyoko said.

Haru's eyes widen as a young green haired man materialized in the room. She shot up to a sitting position, confused.

"Easy, easy," Kyoko said. "This is Lampo. He's a ghost. We'll explain more about it later, but he'll teach you how use your Lightning Flames."

"Do I have to?" Lampo asked with a heavy sigh.

Kyoko placed her hands on her hips, frowning. "Alaude-sensei told me the Lemon Cake Incident story and that Giotto still holds a grudge over what happened."

Lampo snapped to attention. "You wouldn't. Fine, fine. No need to blackmail me into doing this," he grumbled. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before I picked up a student. Everyone else has one or two."

Kyoko huffed before reaching over to pat Haru's hand. "Lampo-san can be lazy. I'll teach you later all the blackmail information you need to keep him motivated in teaching you."

"I'm still here," Lampo complained.

Haru could only nod dumbly, still trying to understand that a ghost was going to teach her Lightning Flames.

"I have to check in with Tetsuya-san," Kyoko said. "So I'll leave you two to figure out a teaching schedule. Lampo-san can't always be here, so best to figure it out now while he is." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Haru turned her attention back to her new teacher. Well, might as well make the best of her situation. She was always the type to make lemonade out of lemons. "Hahi, I'm Haru!"

\---------------------------------------

**Bedside**

In another room, Chrome sat beside Mukuro's bed. Ken, Chikusa and Lancia had left to help with the cleanup of the many Triad members. Just a few minutes ago, Ayame had staggered into the room to check on Mukuro. Once she declared him to be fine, Tsuna had all but dragged her back to his room with instructions that she needed to rest.

It was up to Mukuro to wake now.

"Mukuro-san," Chrome murmured. She remembered the terror she felt this morning, the one that had her stumbling out of bed, half bind and reaching. She remembered the blood and the screams, flashing back to the horrible experiments she had seen in his dreams. She remembered the desire to help, the helplessness, unable to do anything.

Chrome reached out, hesitating just for a second before wrapping her hand around Mukuro. "Please wake up," Chrome whispered.

To her delight, Mukuro squeezed her hand back and let out a groan.

"Mukuro-san!"

"Where?" Mukuro asked groggily.

"We're at the Sawada household," Chrome said. "You collapsed this morning. The wards were sounding alarms."

"Alarms?" Mukuro asked, sitting up. He pressed his palm to his left eye.

"The Triad attacked," Chrome said. "They're gone now. You've slept through the whole thing."

"The Triad?" Mukuro asked dumbly.

"Ah," Chrome said. "You don't know. Well the Triad have been after Kyoya-san for some time. They decided to attack to get him under control, but it backfired."

Mukuro just stared at her, the tiniest hint of confusion reflected in his eyes.

She reached over to pat his hand. "Just rest," she said kindly. "Neesan said you should be able to get of bed later today if you rest now. The dizziness and headache will fade."

Still, Mukuro stared at her; his eyes narrowing in disbelief. Chrome simply stared back, not saying anything else.

"Why are you here?" Mukuro asked.

"You saw my dreams, Mukuro-san. You saw how distant my parents were," Chrome said softly. "When I was sick, all I wanted was someone to take care of me." Her head tilted to the side. "Is it wrong that I want to offer you the one thing I wanted if our situations were reversed?"

Mukuro laid back down, pressing a hand against his left eye. "Do what you want," he said.

Chrome smiled.

\---------------------------------------

**Falsifying Reports**

Reborn scowled, glowering at the semi-transparent form of Giotto. Both Fon and Dino had wandered off in a daze, no doubt trying to wrap their minds around the concepts of ghosts and spirits in Namimori. That left Reborn with Giotto.

"Have you been modifying my reports?" Reborn snapped, irritated. If Engetsu was actively trying to stop him from calling Nono, it would not be a stretch to figure out that someone was tampering with his reports. He didn't know how, but it would certainly explain why Nono wasn't responding back to his inquiries.

"I'm not doing it specifically," Giotto said. "But yes, your reports have been modified."

"Who?" Reborn demanded to know.

"You already know," Giotto said kindly.

Reborn drew in a sharp breath. He did know a spirit, a spirit with the ability to know all written information. A spirit made of paper. "Kamikawa," he said.

"Information, all information is Kamikawa's domain," Giotto said. "If it is written, whether typed on a computer, texted or ink to paper, it falls under Kamikawa's control. She simply removed any mention of Tsunayoshi in your reports."

"Do you realize the type of power you're giving Ienari if he inherits Vongola? With his grudge against his brother, countless hitmen and assassins will flock to kill Tsuna," Reborn snarled. "Even Vongola themselves will come, if only to prevent the fallout of a potential civil war."

The room grew cold and heavy. Reborn felt Sky Flames surged to life and watched as all friendliness vanished from Giotto's stoic expression. He kicked himself for nearly forgetting. Despite all the happy cheerful aura around Giotto, this was still the man who took the law into his own hands, who created Vongola. This was Vongola Primo.

"Don't interfere Reborn," Giotto said coldly. His orange eyes were hard.

"Tsuna is _**my**_ sky," Reborn snapped. "I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Even if it means dragging him into the underworld just because it's better than letting his twin paint a target on his back!"

"Vongola is not a threat."

"How is Vongola not a threat?" Reborn demanded.

Giotto was silent.

"Tell me," Reborn said. "If you want me to stop trying to contact Nono, then tell me how you're planning on keeping my Sky safe?"

"It depends on what you are planning on doing," Giotto said, some of the cold draining away.

"Why does it depend on what I do?" Reborn asked. "Nono may be a friend, but I am a freelancer for a reason. I'm not allied with Vongola." It went unspoken that should Tsuna inherit that would most likely change.

"But you're still part of that underworld. More importantly, you haven't made the decision yet."

"What decision?" Reborn asked.

Giotto pinned him a serious look. "You should ask yourself what is Tsuna worth to you."

Before Reborn could demand more, Giotto vanished, fading back to a different plane where Reborn couldn't see him.

\---------------------------------------

**From the Great Beyond**

Dino was trying very hard to wrap his mind around the facts he had just learned. So…. Ghosts were real. Gods and Spirits too, and that was just, his brain stalled.

He sank into the nearby open seat, dimly realizing that everyone in the room was watching him closely. "Ghosts are real," Dino said, still stunned.

"Obviously," Hayato grumbled out.

"Of course," Bianchi said.

"Yes," Irie agreed.

It was a small comfort to find out the same time as Fon, to know that someone else was just as lost as he was. It hurt a little that Reborn hadn't mentioned it at all despite all the time Dino had been visiting Namimori. The hurt even more that it seemed everyone in Namimori appeared to know about these ghosts and spirits.

"How long?" Dino asked.

"Since I met Neesan," Irie said.

"Since Mukuro's attack," Bianchi said.

"Same as aneki," Gokudera said.

Oh, well that was only a few weeks ago for Bianchi and Gokudera. Dino had no idea when Irie had met Ayame. So maybe Dino wasn't trailing so far behind.

"Are you alright Dino-san?" Irie asked. "You're looking rather pale."

"Ghosts exist," Dino said softly. "Does this mean I'll be able to see my father?"

Gokudera and Bianchi both stared at him, drawing in a sharp breath. Irie on the other hand just casted a pensive look at him.

"No," Irie said. "From my understanding, the majority of people move onto the afterlife, heaven or hell. Some had strong enough regrets to stay as a ghosts, usually those who die tragic and violent deaths as they are feeling those regrets at the moment they died. So if anything, your father has moved on. Even if he remained as a ghost, you wouldn't be able to see him."

"But Primo," Dino said.

Irie shook his head. "It's a little different for Giotto-san. But it has to do with Sight."

"Sight?" Gokudera asked.

"Sight is the ability to not only see but interact with the different spiritual planes. The reason why you three can see spirits right now is because they're changing their frequencies to the Physical Plane," Irie said. "For example, our eyes cannot see xrays or infrared red light without special equipment. Sight is the same thing. There are multiple different planes. You can learn Sight, enough exposure to spiritual particles is usually the key. It's why sometime you'll see Tsuna talking to Giotto-san. To you he's talking to himself, but to Tsuna, he can see Giotto as easily."

"So what does that have to do with seeing ghosts?" Bianchi asked, curious.

"Like I said, it's a little different with Giotto-san. He's not a normal ghost. The ability to see normal ghosts is actually a bit uncommon to learn. You're either born with it or you're not. Over 90 percent of the people with the ability to see normal ghosts were born with the ability. The remaining who learned it, very few gained the ability without doing something extremely drastic," Irie said.

He paused, pondering something. "That said though, Neesan described normal ghosts who are recently deceased and were people with no exposure to spirit energy while they were living. Since Dying Will Flames are a form of spirit energy and given who you are, it's a logical assumption that your father had Dying Will Flames, I'm not entirely sure how would affect him if he had remained on the Physical Plane as a ghost. That's of course assuming he stayed as a ghost. It's still most likely that he moved to the afterlife."

Dino swallowed tightly. His father's death had been so sudden and without warning. It was the reason why he had been so holy unprepared to become a Don. He had always assume that he would take over at least another decade later. Only for his father to have a heart attack one day while out riding around the compound. They had found him too lately and suddenly Dino found himself thrusted into the position of boss.

He never had the chance to properly say goodbye.

"Is there any way to talk to someone who has passed to the afterlife, or even confirm that they made it there?" Dino asked. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Gokudera was paying sharp attention.

Irie shook his head. "I don't know. That's something you would have to ask Neesan."

Dino would do that.

\---------------------------------------

**Grudging Respect**

Reborn left the Sawada Household to check on his wayward student. He was aware that Ienari had launched an attack on the Triads. While Reborn hadn't foreseen such a large scale attack on Namimori, he had hoped that Ienari's attack would fail, showing his student how much further he had to go.

Only for the attack to succeed and not only that, it actually did a decent amount of damage to the large scale attack on the Triad. Reborn wouldn't say it had been the tipping factor, but it had certainly made it easier.

He hate to admit it, but Ienari was shaping up into a fine Decimo Candidate. The boy managed to gather his own set of Guardians (not as good as Reborn's original choices but a decent set nevertheless). Ienari launched a successful attack, carried out the plan with the fitness suitable for a mafia boss.

It just burned to know that Tsuna would be so much better, taint of the underworld or not. Tsuna was such a strong Sky like no other, not since Giotto's original death. Ienari was a good candidate, but not the best and Reborn hated to accept anything but the best.

"Hey Reborn," Ienari greeted. "You missed the fun."

"I didn't," Reborn said. "Sloppy. You didn't even stop to consider how you would cover it up had you failed." Or if backup had come, or worse if the Triads would retaliate as a result. Ienari had no idea how lucky he was that the Triad wasn't even aware of Vongola's presence in Namimori.

Even now, Reborn wasn't sure how Fon proceeded would from here. If it had been anyone else, it would have foolish to challenge the Triad like this. But Fon was an Arcobaleno and one with the backing of the Hibari clan, not to mention whatever support Tsuna and his friends could come up with it.

If they succeeded in getting the Triad to back off, then maybe, Reborn could see why Vongola wasn't a threat. After all, Vongola and the Triad were about the same in terms of power, strength, and reach.

"But we succeeded," Ienari pointed out.

"And you still had to rely on Hibari's Disciplinary Committee to take away the bodies," Reborn said. He weighed his options, before continuing. "But not bad. You have a lot to learn and this was a foolish conquest that you just so happen to get lucky in."

"It wasn't luck!" Ienari protested.

"It was luck. I told you not to go headfirst into anything without knowing who your enemies are. You're lucky this group you decided to attack was distracted by Hibari who had been cleaning them out for weeks that your little stunt was actually successful," Reborn said. He would cover who the Triad was and why it was stupid for Ienari to do what he did on a later date.

"We're strong," Ienari boasted. "We could have taken them all, without Hibari's distraction."

Reborn mentally scoffed. What was he going to do with this boy?

"Go have fun with your friends," Reborn said. "Go celebrate. Your training will resume tomorrow."

"Thank you Reborn," Ienari said, still completely obvious to his tutor's irritation. He took off, joining his guardians.

Reborn let out an annoyed sigh. He had never expected any of this to happen when he had first arrived in Namimori.

\---------------------------------------

**Come Home**

Fon found Kyoya on Namimori Middle School's roof. His nephew was laying down, seemingly asleep.

"Kyoya," Fon said quietly.

The sliver of gray eyes was the only sign that his nephew was listening to him.

Fon hesitated, unsure what was it he really wanted to ask. The idea of ghosts, of spirits, it had been a hard idea to swallow. Add in the stress of this morning, the Triad and their attempt, the consequences that were sure to follow. The war he was going to drag his student and nephew into because of Fon's own sins.

"Otousama called," Kyoya said. "The Triad has been neutralized."

Fon drew in a sharp breath. "What…?" he asked in a stunned voice.

"It's something Otousama and the Omnivore have been planning for a while. With a good chunk of their forces here, Otousama decided it was a good time to strike against the heart of the Triad," Kyoya said dryly. "They're dead and the rest of the family is currently in the process of freeing the hostages."

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Fon's legs gave out and with a small thud, he sat down. He hadn't expected to hear such news.

It had been an idea once, to fully challenge the Triads for his freedom. With Yun's death, his blood family was gone. The only family he had left was I-pin, Kyoya and Koumei. If anything, Fon was reasonably sure he could have won his, I-pin and Kyoya's freedom permanently. Never had he considered taking down the Triad in its entirely.

"I don't know what to do," Fon admitted. This was all unfamiliar territory, a dream of freedom that he didn't think was quite possible.

"You can stay," Kyoya said bluntly.

Fon blinked. Stay? Stay in Namimori?

That…

That… was a novel idea, but not an unwelcomed one. Despite Koumei's job overseas, Namimori was what both Kyoya and Koumei called home. I-pin loved it here, Fon didn't think, didn't want to take her away from her new siblings and Nana. A delirious joy bubbled in his chest, a hope so thick and overwhelming.

He could stay. That was an option now. There wasn't a need to return to China for whatever job the Triad had for him. There wasn't a need to seek out new allies in hopes that one of them could assist in him in quest for freedom. There wasn't a need to take on additional odd jobs to build up some sort of funding. He could stay.

"I think I will," Fon said.

Maybe he could learn to call Namimori home as well.

\---------------------------------------

**Two Days Later**

Fon blinked, eyes soaking in the strange scenery around him. He warily looked at the pink sky and the green ocean before him.

"Another one of you?"

Fon turned around to see a young man with iced blue eyes looking at him. The young man ran hand through his black hair and huffed. "I do not get paid enough to do this," he grumbled.

"Who are you?" Fon asked.

"I'm Zephyr. Welcome to the Spirit World."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I lied, this is the end of the Triad Arc -coughdidn'tthinkthewrapupwouldtakeanotherchaptercough-
> 
> Everyone now knows about spirits and ghosts and Fon is in the Spirit World. Ayame and Tsuna aren't fighting anymore and hey most of you figured out that Reborn's reports were being modified. Now to set up everything for the Ring Arc. So much to get done. 
> 
> Don't forget to visit Goddamn Namimori for extras related to this universe. 
> 
> Also, I've got a request for a timeline/recap/FAQ for the story. Is there anything you want me to clarify? As long as it isn't a spoiler, I'll answer it.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3


	25. Varia and Rings Arc: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

Last Time

_Fon blinked, eyes soaking in the strange scenery around him. He warily looked at the pink sky and the green ocean before him._

_"Another one of you?"_

_Fon turned around to see a young man with iced blue eyes looking at him. The young man ran hand through his black hair and huffed. "I do not get paid enough to do this," he grumbled._

_"Who are you?" Fon asked._

_"I'm Zephyr. Welcome to the Spirit World."_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Meeting Zephyr**

"Where?" Fon asked, wary. He didn't know where he was, how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep and then he found himself… here.

"The Spirit World," Zephyr repeated, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Look, I don't really want to deal with you, so I'll make this quick. One, don't give your real name to spirits who will use it to enslave you. Two, everything has a price. Don't freely accept anything, especially food. An existing deal has been worked out and this information is being given to you free of charge. Three, if possible avoid eating things here. If you must, give thanks. Lastly, be polite and mind your manners."

"Zephyr."

Fon watched as the black haired teen bristled. "Farran," he greeted coldly.

A young woman in a dark blue cheongsam appeared. Her long steel gray hair pinned up with silver hair sticks. She tutted. "Still borrowing that appearance aren't you? You should be strong enough to hold your own version."

"That is my choice," Zephyr snapped. "What do you want?"

Farran's smile was not a nice one. Fon was instantly reminded of Kyoya, of Koumei, of the entire Hibari Clan. Not only was this woman dangerous, she was strong. "I'm here to challenge the human."

"You?" Zephyr asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Farran said. She waved her hand dismissively. "Now leave."

Zephyr pursed his lips. Looking at Fon, he gave one more warning. "Farran is by no means a nice spirit. She won't hesitate to kill you if you fail."

Farran scoffed. "Leave, now Zephyr. This is my challenge."

Zephyr took off, flying away.

Fon felt himself shifting into a half stance once Farran's gaze landed on him. He wasn't sure if he could trust her. What exactly did she mean by challenge?

"Now, let's get started," Farran said.

The ground collapsed beneath Fon's feet and he fell.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Iron Maze**

Fon landed on his feet, instantly surveying his surrounding, trying to find out where he had ended up. On all four sides around him, iron walls stared down at him.

"This is the Iron Maze."

Fon looked for the source of the voice. Sitting on the top of the iron wall behind him was Farran. Her legs were crossed, smoke rising from her golden dragon pipe. She blew out a smoke ring. "If you make it through the maze, you will have won. Failure means you'll starve to death because I won't be helping you out of here. Nor will Zephyr."

"How do I know there is an exit?" Fon asked.

Farran's smile this time revealed a pair of fangs. "Well then you're doomed to fail aren't you?" She vanished before Fon could ask any more questions.

Fon turned back to the maze. Now how was he going to get out of here?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Circles and Hours**

He was going around in circles. Fon was sure of it.

Before he had gone anywhere, he had marked his starting point with the character of his name in the soft dirt. Taking the branch to the left, he wandered, marking every fork with the arrow of direction he had taken.

Only his last turn ended up at the beginning.

Fon let out a frustrated sound. His patience was beginning to run dry. This maze did not have a solution. He had taken all forks in the roads. That he still ended up back in the beginning told him he was going around in a circle.

His stomach let out a rumble. Fon looked upward. A solid black sky greeted him. There was no sun, no clouds, nothing to show the passage of time. His body apparently knew, but aside from the hunger, Fon had no clue how long he had actually been here.

Farran, true to her word, never reappeared.

He dug at the soft dirt. If going through the maze was an impossibility, then perhaps underneath it? A foot down, however, told him that this plan would fail. An iron plate stopped his progress. Fon turned his gaze upward, wondering if he could reach the top of the iron walls. He summoned his Storm Flames, using them to propel him upward. The iron walls stretched upwards with him, never allowing him to reach the top.

Well then.

If he cannot go left, right, forward, back, down or up, then that left only one other option: through.

The red Storm Flames danced around Fon's fist, building up. "EXPLODING LOTUS TEMPO!" His red dragon soared, devouring the iron walls in its wake. Fon quickly followed after it, not wanting to chance the walls regrowing.

In a few short minutes, he broke through the last wall, revealing Farran waiting for him on the other side.

"Well done," she said dryly.

"What is the point of this?" Fon demanded as he stepped forward.

"You should ask the Speaker," Farran said. Her dangerous smile returned. "To know when to stand steadfast and when to break through the impossibilities, yes, very interesting indeed. I will look forward to this."

"Look forward to what?" Fon pressed.

"Ask the Speaker," Farran repeated. Then she pushed him and Fon fell backwards.

Instead of hitting the ground, Fon's eyes snapped open. He found himself in the bed he went to sleep in. The clock revealed it had only been a few hours since he had fallen asleep.

"What," Fon asked himself, "was that about?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Flustered**

Reborn didn't think it was quite possible actually. Fon looked flustered. Usually the Storm Arcobaleno was always calm and serene. On occasion, Reborn had seen Fon angry, upset, and a myriad of other emotions, except for flustered.

He didn't think it was actually possible for Fon to look unbalanced. Yet, here he was, pacing like a caged animal in front of Reborn, hair only half braided and slight panic expression reflected in his eyes.

"Fon," Reborn said, letting his weariness show. It was far too early in the morning for this. Three am, according to the clock hanging on Tsuna's wall. Reborn casted an envied look at Leon nestled in Tsuna's hair, both his partner and Sky were still asleep. He would really like Fon to get to the point of why he had dragged Reborn out of bed so he could go back and join them.

"I had a very strange dream," Fon said. "Only given the past few days I've been having, I'm not quite convinced it was a dream."

Reborn could agree about the last couple of stressful days. Giotto's words still bothered him and he was coming to several very unsettling realizations with the knowledge that Kamikawa had been modifying his reports. Ayame owed him answers, but she was currently off limits according to Tsuna. Then there was Dino who was not coping with the knowledge of spirits and ghosts very well, Ienari who was both annoying and oblivious (for good and bad reasons), and for once Reborn wished that everything would slow down because no matter how good he was, he was still one person.

"About what?" Reborn asked when Fon didn't elaborate.

"Two spirits named Zephyr and Farran, the Spirit World and mazes," Fon snapped.

"Ah."

"Don't 'ah' me," Fon barked out, irritated. "I don't want any games nor any 'you won't believe me if I told you'. I have been here helping you for months now. Give me a straight answer, is that normal?"

Reborn shrugged nonchalantly. "I can only speak for myself. I ended up there a couple weeks after arriving in Namimori. I was told that I most likely offended some God or Spirit. I also met a spirit calling himself Zephyr, along with a woman with silver hair who turned into a young woman, an origami information phoenix spirit called Kamikawa and a silver glowing kitsune called Engetsu, before challenging a Yatagarasu to battle and barely surviving. Why you ended up there now of all times, I do not know."

Fon just stared at him.

Reborn waited.

Taking a deep breath, Fon centered himself, letting his frustration drain away.

"What does it mean?" Fon finally asked. "The Spirit World, why we both went there, the spirits that challenged us?"

"Who knows?" Reborn said, with just a touch of bitterness. He hated that he was completely in the dark regarding Namimori and the Spirit World. Slowly, he collected the pieces of the puzzles, but the big image was still a mystery. There was confidence in Giotto's words that Vongola wasn't a threat, there was the incident between the twins at age eight that no one spoke about, there was something more to these spirits.

"Will Ayame give us a straight answer if we ask?" Fon questioned.

Reborn snorted, but before he could retort, another voice cut him off.

"A straight answer about what?"

Both Arcobaleno twirled around to see Ayame opening the balcony door, poking her head out.

"How," Reborn gritted out, "are you doing that?" Ayame came and went as she pleased and the most infuriating thing was that she didn't make a bloodied sound. None of Reborn's finely honed and almost superhuman like senses could sense that she was coming. To him, she was literally popping out of nowhere.

Ayame shrugged, stepping outside to join them. She slid the door shut so that their conversation wouldn't wake Tsuna who was still sleeping.

"Are you Kamikawa?" Reborn asked, jumping on the opportunity to interrogate her.

"No," Ayame said.

"But you know of her," Reborn stated. "She's the reason why no one can find information on you, why you know things others don't, how you can access information that others never dream they could." The realization that all information fell under Kamikawa's domain was an uncomfortable one. It didn't just stop at modifying Reborn's reports, this meant the origami phoenix spirit could change any information and access any information. Such as Vongola's secret library or Yousei's records who had left an untraceable trail, until it had been almost too late. It was no surprise none of Reborn's informants had been able to discover anything about Ayame, no paper trail at least, but no one in Namimori knew where she come from (except for possibly Tsuna).

Ayame's smile was razor sharp. "Finally figured that out, I see."

"Who exactly is Kamikawa?" Fon asked, annoyed.

"Kamikawa is an origami phoenix spirit," Ayame explained. "All of information is her domain."

"And what can you tell me about the Spirit World and why I just came from there?" Fon asked.

Ayame shrugged. "The Spirit World exist and I don't claim to know why you got dragged in there. The most common explanation is you did something to offend a spirit or god."

Fon stared at her, baffled. "What could I have done to offend a spirit or god?" he asked.

Ayame shrugged again.

"Your relationship with Engetsu?" Reborn asked.

Ayame waved her hand dismissively. "Engetsu is a friend and I think I've answered enough of your questions for the night. I'm going to sleep before Tsuna discovers that I'm still awake at this unforgivable hour." She didn't let them get in another word, sliding open the balcony door and stepping into Tsuna's room.

As soon as the door click shut, Fon get out a frustrated garbled sound. "This town is infuriating," Fon hissed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Healing Peace**

Slowly, Namimori settled into peace. The last remnants of the Triad were swiftly dealt with it, the repairs to the damages done during the fighting was fixed and majority of the civilians continued on with their life unaware.

Ienari and his Guardians continued to practice, growing stronger each day. Reborn was secretly impressed at the way they came together. It didn't stop him from tortu-teaching Ienari into the ground every day though. Still, the upside to Ienari's new focus with his friends and the new 'headquarters' he and his friends had obtained, it often meant that he spent more time away from the Sawada Household.

The farther he was away from Tsuna, the easier everyone breathed.

Everyone else settled into their old routine. There was school to worry about, limits to tests and wounds to heal. But to a select few there was an undercurrent that was slowly beginning to grow stronger.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Praise**

"You're done?" Ayame asked, blinking. That was honestly not the piece of news she had expected to hear when Shoichi walked into her office that morning. "It worked?"

Shoichi nodded. "I know how important this experiment was to you, that why I'm not at school today. But yes. I was talking to Spanner about it. Not in detail, but he had given me an insight that solved the issue I was having. See the thing was we trying to hard -"

"Wait, wait," Ayame cut him off. "Who is Spanner?"

Shoichi looked startled. "Oh, ah he's a friend. We met through an online robotics forum? We've been debating ideas, sound boarding off each other for years. Remembered the self-filing robot I showed you? That was something we collaborated on a few years back."

"Where is he from?" Ayame asked. Her mind already spinning. Shoichi never mentioned he had a friend that was smart enough to keep up with him!

"Well he's originally from London, but he's currently living in Italy with his grandfather as a mechanic," Shoichi said.

"Does he want a job?" Ayame asked. "Because Shoichi, dear you are amazing and if your friend is even half as good as you, I want him here. Shoichi? Shoichi?" She looked down to see that Shoichi had once again fainted on her. "Argh," she said, frustrated. "I thought I finally trained that out him!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Spanner**

Spanner was not expecting this. He wasn't expecting a young woman dressed in a black short dress with long white sleeves and high top stockings to be standing at the entrance of his home.

"Hello! You must be Spanner," the woman said. She looked oddly familiar. Then the penny dropped.

"You're-"

"Ayame. Yes, that Ayame," she introduced herself. "I heard about you from Shoichi. I would have brought him with me, but well, he fainted on me and I didn't want to wait until he woke back up. But enough about that. Do you want a job?"

Was that even a serious question?

"It is indeed a serious question," Ayame said, amused. She handed him a stack of papers. "You're technically still a minor, but here's the contract, here's how to apply for a work visa, here's all the benefits you will gain if you want the job. Now go get your guardian and let's talk."

Not even an hour later, Spanner found himself on his way to Japan.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Doctor**

Shamal felt the atmosphere tense when Tsuna walked into his infirmary. His hands were already grabbing bandages. "Where?" he demanded.

Tsuna smiled, holding up his hands in surrender. "Nothing today, I promise."

"You are going to drive me into an early grave, I swear," Shamal grumbled. Curse that reflex to immediately check for injuries on Tsuna.

Tsuna took a seat on the bed, kicking his legs lightly. "Shamal-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Shamal said, putting back the bandages.

"Would you like to stay here, in Namimori, as a doctor?" Tsuna asked.

Shamal froze. "I'm an assassin," he said slowly.

"But you're also a doctor," Tsuna pointed out. "I… I just wanted to let you know you have the option. I know leaving the mafia isn't exactly an easy thing, especially since you're so well known. But if you want to become a doctor full time, then it's a choice you can make."

Shamal stared at him, surprised. He was a freelance hitman for a good reason. There hadn't been anyone who called him to their side. No one had asked the right question. Shamal took a shaky breath, feeling the harmonization that was singing in the air, feeling the way Tsuna called him home.

He was a doctor before anything else. But he had learned to become an assassin as a way to protect himself. Too many mafiosos took advantage of his skills, so Shamal learned to turn those skills into deadly weapons. As his notoriety grew, many Skies tried to get him to join their famiglia. They always offered the wrong thing, more money, more women, more hits. None got that Shamal valued life above all, that saving people had always been his dream no matter his vices.

Yet this fourteen year old boy got it. This tiny boy whom Shamal had spent the last several months worrying over, subverting his own rule to treat woman only.

Shamal sank into his chair, legs giving out. Shit. When had Sawada Tsunayoshi become his Sky?

"Just think about it please," Tsuna asked. He licked his lips, nervous. "I also wanted to ask if it was okay if you became my doctor full time? Right now, my primary doctor is Neesan. There's nothing wrong with that. She has the degree and all the training, but I'm her only patient because she isn't a practicing doctor, technically."

"She's a doctor?" Shamal asked.

Tsuna nodded. "She was finishing up her training during the year I met her actually. I mean, it is Neesan. She was in an accelerated training, after she finished getting her degree in record time. I think she wanted the medical knowledge just in case. Neesan is paranoid like that."

Given Namimori and the state that the kids often ended up, he felt Ayame's paranoia was well justified. He wasn't sure how these kids survived before he had come to Namimori, now he knew. Ayame was an actual licensed doctor apparently. Wait, didn't Reborn say she was business woman? That would explain why she isn't a practicing doctor.

'You know what,' Shamal thought. 'Let Reborn figure that out.'

"Because Neesan isn't a practicing doctor, she told me if I ever find a doctor I trusted, a real doctor, I should go ahead and show them my medical files. I trust you, Shamal-san," Tsuna said.

Tsuna trusted him? Shit, forget even considering going back to the mafia after this. "I have your medical records," Shamal decided to say instead.

"Not all of them," Tsuna said quietly. He opened his bag and pulled out a folder. Handing it over to Shamal, Tsuna said, "Please don't tell Reborn. I'm still trying to figure out how to tell him myself."

Shamal flipped through the folder, heart dropping. He choked as he read, hands beginning to tremble. "Tsunayoshi," he said gravely. "How are you still alive?"

Tsuna gave him a bittersweet expression. "I ask myself that often."

Shit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Doing her best (and failing anyways)**

Nana opened the newspaper, finding the first article that sounded slightly interesting to her. Apparently Kinga Company's PV System line was doing exceeding well. Maybe she should look into some solar panels for the house? It would save on cost in the long run.

"Good morning Kaasan," Ienari said, yawning as he sat down in his chair.

Nana smiled. "Good morning Nari-kun." She stood and pulled out the breakfast she had already cooked, placing it front of her youngest son. The house was quiet this morning. She was not sure where Reborn was, but Ayame and Tsuna had already left. She quietly asked Bianchi to take the kids out. Bianchi looked concerned, but ultimately agreed to do so. The kids left, grumbling at being woken so early, but Nana promised a sweet treat if they went.

So this morning was just her and Ienari.

"Nari-kun," Nana said.

"Hmm?" her son questioned, mouth full as he gobbled down his breakfast.

"Do you even want to become Vongola Decimo?"

Ienari choked. He grabbed his milk, taking a swing and patted his chest. "Kaasan!" he said scandalized. "You know about Vongola?"

For a brief moment, Nana saw Iemitsu in Ienari's place. It was… disquieting that her son thought of her to be so oblivious. Did she really come across like that? 'Then again,' she thought bitterly, 'had Tsu-kun never met Ayame, I would have still been in the dark about Iemitsu's job.'

In her darkest moments, she wondered what kind of life she would have led had Ayame not come to Namimori. She was well aware she was not the most aware person in the world, perhaps a little too out of touch with reality. Gullible to a fault as well; that was probably why Iemitsu got away with lying to her for so long. Meishi's presence was invaluable, allowing her to see things she had missed, anchoring her in a way she needed. She would have lost both of her sons without Ayame, because Ienari would have destroyed Tsuna before going to Vongola and she would have never _known_. Not really.

Everything that had happened to her sons when they were eight was a nightmare. She had been so blind; it was a brutal wake up call.

Nana mourned just a little. This was never the life she had wanted to lead and while she loved her sons immensely, loved what little happiness Iemitsu had given her, this was not the family she had dreamed about. She couldn't even count it as a family. Her husband was lying to her; she was lying to him. Her sons were on two opposite ends of the world, in everything.

Then there were her failings as a mother. It didn't matter how much her sons told her that they loved her, it didn't matter Tsuyoshi's reassurance that she was doing a fine job, or the way Reborn called her _Mamma_ , she was a failure of a mother. How could anyone say she was doing a good job with her sons when one of them actively abuses the other? And there was nothing she could stop Ienari, no matter how much she intervened, grounded him, scolded him, the best she could do was keep them apart?

There was Tsunayoshi. Gods, Nana was so reliant on Ayame for Tsunayoshi. Ayame was only a few years older than Tsuna, set adrift in a worse way than Nana ever was, and yet she was doing better job with Tsuna then Nana was. Tsuna relied on Ayame for everything.

'Maybe,' she thought darkly, 'I'm still going to lose both my sons.'

Ienari had never really needed her. He needed the idea of her, the idea of a mother, but he was always fiercely independent. Which was why, should Ienari ever go Italy for Vongola, Nana knew she would never see him again outside of a few phone calls during the holidays. On the other hand, Tsuna had always needed her, needed her support, needed her simple belief that he could do anything he wanted, but he never _asked_ for it. Nana was so ashamed that she use to often miss Tsuna's silent cries for help. She has spent every day since the incident making it up to him and it still didn't feel like enough.

She couldn't keep failing. That was why, even though it was so late to be asking this, she wanted to know if Ienari even wanted to be Vongola Decimo. Admittedly, if Ienari didn't, she didn't know what was going to happen next.

"Yes, I know about Vongola," Nana said. "I know that Reborn was sent here to teach you as the next heir."

"Are you… disappointed?" Ienari asked, uncomfortably.

"I'm disappointed in your father," Nana admitted. "I found out about Vongola the hard way. He never told me that he was part of the Italian mob." Nana had many issues with Iemitsu, left unresolved. She didn't know what she was going to do if he ever came back home.

"But," Nana said. "It's your decision to follow in his footsteps or not. If you want to become Decimo, I won't disagree. As long as you want to."

Ienari looked at her, stunned. "I-I don't know," he said, unsure.

She suspected as much. Reborn had a good heart underneath everything, but it didn't change the fact that he was sent here to make one of her sons into a heir for the bloodiest mafia famiglia in Italy. (It was something she probably would never forgive him for.)

"Think about it," Nana said gently. "Before it becomes too late for you to change your mind."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Light**

Kamikawa lazily turned the page of her book. She paused, stopping to read the sentence that caught her attention.

_Fiat justitia per lux beatissima_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark**

Shoichi found himself in darkness. He stumbled around, trying to feel for a wall. Why was it so dark? Where was Ayame? The last thing he remembered was talking to her about the experiment they had been working on for months.

Ping!

Shoichi stopped, hearing a noise in the distance. As he listened more closely, he realized it was a song. A shamisen perhaps? It didn't quite sound like his mother's harp, but it was a stringed instrument.

Inching forward, Shoichi followed the sound, trying to navigate through the dark. If nothing else, a song meant someone was playing and hopefully a way out of this darkness.

The song grew louder and louder as he drew closer to the source. There, tiny and small, was a bright light in the distance. The exit.

Shielding his eyes, he stepped out into the light. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. It was a small grove, surrounded by cherry blossom trees.

A woman sat playing the shamisen. Her kimono was a vibrant crimson red, embroidered with golden sakura petals. Her skin was as white as freshly fallen snow.

"Welcome," the woman greeted. She handed him her bachi. Her green eyes sparkled in mirth. "Congratulations."

Shoichi looked at her confused as he tentatively took the bachi. "I don't understand?"

The woman merely smiled. "No, you don't. But in time you will. Until we meet again."

Shoichi's world plunged into darkness again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Path to Madness**

It was a quiet afternoon when Dino finally managed to talk to Ayame. Ayame had been blissfully unaware that he wanted to talk to her. There was much to do in the following clean-up and Shamal's insistence that she rest. Tsuna's look of disappointment had all but ensured that Ayame was indeed resting. Then there was whole issue with Shoichi's experiment and dragging Spanner to Japan. (In fact, she had all but thrown Spanner and Shoichi at Tsuna. They would figure it out.)

That insistence tugging in the back of her mind alerted Ayame to Dino's presence. (Someone up there was mocking her, she just _knew_ it.)

"If you ruin this outfit, I'm going to be very upset," Ayame said flatly.

Dino held up his hands in surrender, revealing that he wasn't carrying anything. (Of course that didn't stop issues like him crashing into her and them landing in mud, paint, or other various things that stained her clothes.)

"I just want to talk," Dino said.

Alarm bells went off in Ayame's head. Sometime about this conversation was dangerous. "Very well," she said warily.

"Is there a way to speak to my father's ghost?" Dino blurted out.

Ayame froze. "No," she instantly replied. " _No_." That path led to madness. If Ayame was a person of less regrets, of a more stable mind and personality, maybe possibly. But there were things she never pursued, never taught herself, never learned because it led to more madness.

"Leave it," she hissed, not feeling any remorse as Dino flinched at her tone. "There," she struggled to say the words. "There are people you can seek out if you really want that, mediums who specialize in it, but never tell me about it, never ask me about it."

It was temptation and Ayame needed all of her ghosts to stay firmly in the past. All of them, not matter whom she may wish to see.

"I'm sorry," Dino apologized.

Ayame let out a frustrated sigh. She centered herself, forcing back the hysteria. "You have no way of knowing," she said miserably. Voice shaking, she took a step back. "I'm going to go and lock myself in a room or something."

"Wait, Aya-"

She didn't give him a chance to finish, fleeing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Real Illusions**

Chrome focused, deeply breathing in and out. In front of her, a tiny toy car lazily made loops around the table. It putted out tiny flumes of exhaust, tainting the air just a little; its tiny turn signals turning off and on with each left and right.

"How are you doing that?"

Chrome jumped, the toy car vanishing in a puff of Mist Flames. "Mukuro-san!" she exclaimed, startled by his appearance.

Mukuro frowned, approaching the table. "You shouldn't let me break your concentration," he chided.

Chrome blushed, embarrassed. "That's what I was working on."

"Show me," Mukuro ordered.

Chrome hesitated for only a fraction, before summoning back the toy car. Mukuro reached over, touching the car. Unlike other illusions, it didn't collapse. In fact, Mukuro was able to pick the car up. "This has weight," he said, eyes narrowing. "You're making these illusions real."

"They're still illusions," Chrome said. "I can't, that's reality warping to make them real. They're real to an extent, but they're still illusions. I can't make them any bigger than this car at the moment, it's no more powerful than a toy, and they don't last away from me beyond a few feet."

"Mental projection?" Mukuro asked.

Chrome nodded. "They're still dependent on me. To make them real would mean they're not. But giving them weight as if they were a real object, allowing them to materialize and allow you to interact with them even if you know they're an illusion, that's the next step I suppose."

"How did you learn this?" Mukuro asked.

Once more, Chrome hesitated. "I could introduce you to my teacher," she said finally. Ayame might disapprove and it was potentially a disaster in waiting, but Chrome wanted to trust Mukuro.

"I look forward to it," Mukuro said, eyes gleaming.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Lighter**

Giotto felt strange. It was as if a weight had disappeared overnight. This was the first time in years that he felt so light. He hadn't even noticed how heavy the weight was until it was gone.

He wasn't the only one. The rest of his Guardians felt it too. No one was sure what to make of it. There wasn't anything physically different, according to Knuckles, nor did anything else feel wrong. Still, it felt strange to be this light.

If he wasn't careful, Giotto was sure he would just float away.

"Perhaps Ayame would know?" Asari said. "She is after all the person we go to for information about the Spirit World."

"So damn embarrassing," G mumbled. "She's human, currently alive, and yet she knows more about this place then we do and we've been here for centuries."

"It's what her family is known for," Giotto said. "But excellent idea Asari. I'll go ask her."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Planning a Meeting**

"Tsuna."

"Papa," Tsuna said, surprised to see Giotto. He wasn't expecting to see him for at least a few more days while Giotto was recharging in Spirit World.

"Is Ayame around?" Giotto asked.

"Is something wrong?" Tsuna asked, feeling the tingle of Hyper Intuition. He shuffled away his homework, knowing full well that he wouldn't be concentrating on anything while Giotto was here. Shoichi and Spanner had left over an hour ago.

"Not sure," Giotto admitted. "I was hoping she could explain it though."

Tsuna nodded. "I'm not sure where she is right now," Tsuna said. "She's not responding to her phone messages and Meishi mentioned she's not in town at the moment. So… that's anywhere. Neesan did mention that whenever you came back, she wanted to talk to both of us."

"Ominous," Giotto said.

Tsuna nodded glumly. The last time the three of them had a serious talk, the conversation regarding killing Ayame had come about, sparking their fight. He was not looking forward to it.

"I'll come back tomorrow then," Giotto said.

"Yeah, we might as well get it over with," Tsuna said. He wasn't looking forward to it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Inheritance**

Tsuna's eyes narrowed as he walked into Ayame's office with Giotto following behind him. He had waved hello to Shoichi and Spanner in the labs before entering Ayame office. He wasn't really expecting to find her looking exhausted.

"Neesan," he said with a hint of warning.

"I'll sleep soon," she promised.

"You better," Tsuna grumbled. "Shamal said you needed more rest. You're pushing yourself too hard."

"You should take better care of yourself," Giotto agreed.

"It's not like I purposely do this," Ayame protested.

Tsuna felt the spike of Hyper Intuition telling him clearly that little tidbit was a lie. This current spell of exhaustion was definitely done on purpose, but there wasn't much he could do about it. You could lead a horse to water, but you couldn't force it to drink. She had been doing so well, it was frustrating that she had let it split back to this already.

Instead, Ayame handed Tsuna a box.

"Four years ago we told Giotto about our plans regarding Vongola," Ayame said, purposely changing the subject. "In return, he asked a favor of me. Thank Shoichi when you have the chance. He figured out what I was missing."

"It worked?" Giotto asked, excited.

"Yes," Ayame said. She gestured to the box. "Open it."

Tsuna opened the box. Inside, sitting on black velvet, were seven rings. Each one had a different color gem set in them, but otherwise looked plain.

"The Vongola rings were part of something called the Tri-Ni-Set," Ayame explained. "They're very powerful artifacts which amplify Dying Will Flames."

"They're also powerful weapons," Giotto said, cutting in. "When you decided that you didn't want any part of Vongola, I respected that. But I also didn't want Ienari to have free range with them. When I was still alive, I sealed the Vongola Rings into a lesser form. However, they were still more powerful than any other ring in the mafia. So I asked Ayame for a way to prevent Ienari from using the Vongola Rings or even better, let you have them instead."

"This is not the Vongola Rings though," Tsuna said, examining the one with the orange gem closely. Ayame had shown him pictures of the Vongola Rings. These lacked the insignia of the mafia famiglia.

"No," Ayame said. "As our goal is to fly under Vongola's radar for as long as possible, going in and stealing the rings wasn't an option. Even if it would have much easier to do that."

She pulled out ingot of metal. "This is metal from the Spirit World called Ikigane. Ikigane is an excellent Spirit Energy conductor. The gems used are also from the Spirit World, natural amplifiers and energy storage. You know how energy likes to travel down the path of least resistance? With Ikigane, we formed a pathway and gems are basically battery packages and we charged these rings using the Vongola Rings as a power supply. Like charging a battery with another battery."

"When did you get your hands on the Vongola Rings to do this?" Tsuna asked, alarmed.

"Ah, I didn't," Ayame said. "I used Giotto here as a charging cable. I basically anchored Giotto to these new rings and with his connection to the Vongola Rings, the Tri-Ni-Set easily moved to its new home. Took less than a few hours."

"What?" Giotto asked. "I didn't know about that."

"I had figured," Ayame said. "You still haven't realized why you're different from other ghosts have you? Why you haven't moved onto the afterlife like other normal people."

"No…" Giotto said, looking unsure.

"Your soul was tied to the Vongola Rings," Ayame explained. "Even more so because you're the first holder. The Dons and Donna that came after you, only fragments of their soul were attached to the Vongola Rings. You were basically doomed for all eternity to remain anchored to those rings."

Giotto paled. "The miracle of the time axis," he whispered, stunned.

"Wait, so what happened to the Vongola Rings and papa's soul now?" Tsuna asked.

"Well the Vongola Rings are basically empty husk. They're still slightly more powerful rings than other rings, but power behind them, this Tri-Ni-Set, is gone, tied to these new rings instead," Ayame said. "As for Giotto, well I've detached him from the Vongola Rings. Are you feeling lighter?"

Giotto nodded. "Yes. That was what I wanted to ask you about. The others feel it too."

"Same issue with them as you. Their souls were anchored to the Vongola Rings," Ayame explained. "You can probably move on to the afterlife now if you wanted to. Alternatively, you can also remain here for a bit longer. Because you're not anchored to the Vongola Rings anymore, the pesky ritual we had to do to get you here isn't required. You can travel anywhere in the world, provided you have enough Spirit Particles to support yourself. However, you're a borderline spirit."

"What does that mean?" Giotto asked.

"Sometimes humans become a little bit _more_. High exposure to Spirit Energy, the Spirit World, or Spirit Particles all lead to humans becoming a little less human and more like spirits. And you know spirits what are, the power and strength, the longevity of their lifespan, some almost to the point of immortality. You live in the Spirit World, your own Dying Will Flames which again are a form of Spirit Energy, the very Spirit Particles you use to support your form," Ayame explained. "The only thing keeping you fully human was the fact that your soul was anchored here on the physical plane."

She looked at him, up and down. "A couple more years should be okay, but if you want to go to the afterlife at all, you're going to have to decide that sooner than later."

Turning back to Tsuna, Ayame said, "Tsuna you also have a decision to make. You can choose to not use these rings at all and I can throw them into a vault or hide them somewhere. Or… you can name them."

"Names have power," Tsuna said, remembering that lesson from long ago.

"Yes," Ayame said. "You can use the name to bind the rings. When you name them, they'll change shape, taking on whatever insignia you choose." Looking at Giotto, she asked. "The Vongola Rings didn't always have Vongola's crest on them, did they?"

Giotto shook his head. "No, it was something we noticed one day. But they were magical rings so we didn't question them much."

"Always question things like that, especially because they are magical," Ayame grumbled. "Anyways, for example let's say you named the rings Hamaguri after Vongola. On the rings themselves eventually the name Hamaguri would engrave itself. You could restrict how they're inherited, how they're used."

"But why me?" Tsuna asked. Wise beyond her years in this type of thing, he didn't understand why Ayame just didn't do this herself.

"Because Giotto has picked you as his heir. They were originally his and as he's still around, he does get a say in who gets to inherit. Also you're his direct descendent which means you have a larger claim over Vongola anyways. Then between you and Ienari, you're the older twin," Ayame said. "In not so many words, you have the blood claim, the spiritual claim and the approval of your predecessor which means you outrank everyone, even me, when it comes to these new rings."

Oh. That would explain it.

"There is a possibility that you and whoever you choose to share those rings will get bound to these rings the same way Giotto and his Guardians were bound to the Vongola Rings once you die," Ayame said with a frown. "I don't know enough about this Tri-Ni-Set to be sure and many spirits I talked to only know the bare minimum about it."

Tsuna looked down at the rings, feeling the weight of them. It felt heavy. Despite his best efforts, it seemed he was still destined to play a part. He ran his fingers over the seven rings.

"What do you recommend?" he asked.

"Honestly, I say name them," Ayame said. "Right now, they're blank slates. If somewhere down the line someone like Triads got their hands of this, they could twist them into powerful weapons again. It might not happen now, might not happen even in a few decades, but sooner or later after we're both dead and turn to dust, someone will either steal the rings thinking they're a pretty thing to sell only to discover their power or one of our descendants who no longer remembers whatever warnings we might pass down accidently finds them."

She shrugged. "On the other hand, if you name them, you can probably can set some of requirement, like how a Sky Ring can only be passed down to a Sky Flamer user. Or a blood requirement which is what the Vongola Rings are currently set to. If you do get bound to the rings after your death, you can influence who gets picked, like Giotto here and Tsuna you're an excellent judge of character. I hope you don't get bounded to the ring, but in the event that you do, you are the better choice."

Tsuna's shoulders sagged. Ayame's judgement was sound and he did agree. (Sometimes it was infuriating how much she would make sense.) When she put it that way, then yes Tsuna rather name these rings now then it let potentially fall into the wrong hands. The blood requirement wasn't needed, Ienari was proof that blood didn't really mean anything. A trial maybe? Individually a judge each person?

Then he noticed a very important key factor. "There are only one of each Flame Type," Tsuna said slowly.

"Well there are only seven Vongola Rings," Giotto said.

Tsuna despaired. He had two Clouds. Two! Kyoya and Kyoko were going to tear each other over who got the ring. Three Suns! Three! Reborn would destroy Ryohei and Shoichi. Five Storms! FIVE! Hayato and Hana would probably be the ones to fight over the Ring. I-pin wouldn't care, nor would Bianchi and Fon was still a wild card at this point. Both Haru and Lambo had Lightning Flames but neither knew how to use them. He wasn't even going to think about Mists. He wasn't. (Chrome was his, Tsuna knew that, could feel that, so was Shamal. Despite his mistrust of Mukuro, Tsuna also knew that Mukuro was his too and nope, nope not thinking about it.)

Thank the gods above that Takeshi was his only Rain.

"We can make more rings," Ayame said. "They'll be on par with those, but they won't be connected to the Tri-Ni-Set."

Tsuna rubbed his forehead. "Hieee," he mumbled. "They're going to tear each other apart."

"I'm pretty sure both Reborn and Fon won't be able to hold them because the pacifiers are another part of the Tri-Ni-Set," Giotto said.

Still didn't help, but that was good to know Tsuna supposed.

"Maybe they can tell me more about it," Ayame grumbled. "It makes me nervous that most Spirits don't know about it."

Tsuna shut the box. "I guess I'm going to just let them decide."

A battle royal might be the easiest solution when he thought about it. His friends were battle happy enough, Shoichi aside.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Breakout**

"BOSS!"

Iemitsu looked up startled when Oregano burst into his office. "Oregano? What's wrong?" he asked, rising to his feet.

"The Varia just broke out Xanxus!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. So counting down to the appearance of the Varia. Fon's trip to the Spirit World was short and easy (from a certain point of view). Reborn is finally getting some answers and he isn't liking what he finds. Ienari really doesn't realize what he's getting himself into. Spanner's introduction finally! \ o / Shamal _knows_. And then the **rings**. Hard for Vongola to be a threat if the Vongola Rings have been neutralized no? 8D
> 
> **General Notes**  
>  Giotto mentioned in Chapter 5: Noisy Worry that he discovered later that his soul was bound to the Vongola Rings. Here's later :P  
> Shoichi and Ayame's Ring Experiment. Direct references to it can be found in Chapter 14: Faint and Chapter 21: Path of Least Resistance.  
> Kamikawa modified Reborn's reports in Chapter 8: Report II Revised, Chapter 11: Report III Revised, Chapter 14: Report IV Revised and Chapter 19: Report V Revised
> 
> -.-.-
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :3 Who do you think is getting the new rings?


	26. Varia and Rings Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A  
> ** **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Six Impossible Things**

Tsuna sat quietly on the rooftop, watching as the first sunbeams began to brighten the sky, bringing the start of a new day. Each sunrise was different and Tsuna loved the feeling of those first beams of light, an affinity that continued to grow stronger with each passing year.

It was quiet, all of Namimori still slumbering. In the house below, Tsuna could sense his family still sleeping. Drawing his leg closer to his chest, Tsuna basked in the simple quiet peace. He loved these moments.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself, allowing his thoughts to wander to that dark and dangerous edge he kept them from. Ienari, Vongola, the new Rings, the secrets Ayame held, even the thorny problem of Reborn's presence. There were so many things happening, all at once. Tsuna was surprised he was keeping himself afloat.

Whether it was Hyper Intuition or something else, Tsuna could feel the pressing urgency of everything weighing down on his shoulders. Everything as coming to a head soon. A war against Vongola if they failed.

"Neesan said it once," Tsuna whispered to himself. "If you start something, you see it through until the end." Maybe he was using Ienari as a sacrifice pawn, maybe he wasn't any better than Vongola, maybe it would be all for nothing, maybe it would end in war, maybe he would lose everything, maybe trying to change his fate was an impossible thing.

There were too many maybes. Too many things that could go wrong. "Commit every action with your Dying Will," Tsuna said softly, repeating Reborn's words to him.

He had made his choice. There would be no more running, no changing his mind. To do anything less would be an insult to his friends and Ayame. With renewed determined, he reaffirmed his decision to see this plan through the end.

In the distance, the sun broke the horizon.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Red Roses**

"I'm sorry!"

Ayame looked at the red roses being offered to her. "Is this a new attempt to apologize to me before you spill something on me?" she asked dryly.

Dino scratched his cheek, nervous. "Ah… no? It's actually for whatever I said or did to make you upset the other day."

Ayame stubbornly repressed the memory. "It's not like you could have known," she said.

"Still," Dino insisted. "It upset you and for that I'm sorry." He hesitated before saying softly, "I don't want to upset you or make you uncomfortable. So just because I couldn't have known, please tell me what I should avoid doing or saying that would make you uncomfortable so I can remember not to do it."

Ayame blinked, stunned. The only other person who regularly went out of their way to make sure she was comfortable was Tsuna. Aside from the many doctors she regularly saw, Dino was the first person who wanted to _know_. To know in order to prevent.

It never really occurred to Ayame to tell people what made her uncomfortable or what triggered her meltdowns. The list was rather long and some were complete nonsense (that shouldn't upset her but did) and the older she got the more she had to add because her entire life was like a machine on the verge of a breakdown. She was literally living crisis to crisis.

It certainly didn't help that her most stable (and arguably her most unstable) relationship was with Tsuna. Ayame simply wasn't use to socializing with people before coming to Namimori and Tsuna was far too young to really understand back then. Tsuna discovered the many things that triggered her by accident. Bless Tsuna's heart, he adapted quickly and learned how to observe her actions and reactions.

The rest of the kids were subconsciously aware of it, most likely Tsuna's effect. They didn't really know why they did and didn't do certain things around her, but she always appreciated that they didn't ask. (Eventually she would have to sit down and tell them because they did deserve to know.)

She tilted her head, observing Dino. One small step wouldn't hurt, she supposed.

"I hate red roses," Ayame said.

Dino looked at her, flabbergasted.

"There's an internet term that explains it quite well. It's called squick," Ayame explained. "They're not something that will trigger a panic attack, anxiety attack or any meltdown of sort. They're not exactly something that upset me either. They do however make me very uncomfortable and if I can avoid them I will."

Dino was horrified. "I must have given you dozens of red roses bouquets," he said cringing.

"You're up to 394," Ayame said. "Which is impressive since we haven't actually known each other for a full year yet and you're not always in Namimori."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Dino asked.

"Because they only make me uncomfortable. It was easy enough to hand them off to someone else who would enjoy them. I know many people who have enjoyed them," Ayame said.

Still, Dino cringed. "Are there any other flowers I should avoid?"

"Irises give me panic attacks," Ayame said. She had issues with her namesake. Lots and lots of issues.

"Anything else?"

"Let's start off with that," Ayame said wearily.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cloud Brews a Storm**

Hayato cursed as he was thrown against a wall.

"Again," Kyoya said, looming over him.

Hayato snarled, jumping back to his feet. He would land a punch on the older teen if it was the last thing he did. He leaped forward throwing a punch, which Kyoya blocked, using his other hand to drive a tonfa punch into Hayato's vulnerable stomach.

Hayato stumbled backwards, clutching his midsection

"Again," Kyoya said.

"You're a real bastard, you know that?" Hayato spat out.

"And you're the weakest Storm I know," Kyoya said dryly. "I-pin is less than half your age and can summon stronger Flames than you can."

Hayato bristled; red Flames starting to flicker around him.

Kyoya grinned, all sharp and pointy. He lifted his tonfas in a readied stance. "Show me what kind of Storm you can grow, Gokudera Hayato."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Storm in the Sky**

"Kyoya-senpai isn't going easy on Hayato at all," Tsuna remarked from the sidelines.

Next to him, Fon nodded in agreement. "It'll help him grow. Kyoya will push Hayato to his limits."

Fon watched as Kyoya sent Hayato flying across the dojo once more. However, Hayato refused to give up, jumping back up to his feet. Storm Flames flickered on and off, and Fon mentally applauded the way Hayato had used his Flames to eat away at the floorboard beneath Kyoya's feet. An excellent trap.

"Thank you," Fon said quietly. He would say it now.

Tsuna looked down at him. "For what?" he asked.

"Kyoya explained how the plan to take down the Triad had come about. Your role, Ayame's and Koumei's," Fon said.

Tsuna shook his head. "Neesan and Koumei-san did all the heavy lifting."

So modest this boy.

"It is my understanding that the plan wouldn't have come into fruition, had you not befriended Kyoya in the first place," Fon said. "Not only that, I-pin adores you. You're a wonderful big brother to her."

Tsuna had done much for his family, even if the actual role he played was small. Fon could easily see how different things would have been, had Tsuna not befriend Kyoya. Like the flap of a butterfly's wing, the smallest thing brought forth the biggest change.

It wasn't just the Triad either. It was the way Kyoya, still unbounded and free, but yet tempered around the edges, that gentleness that very few people saw, all thanks to his friendship with Tsuna. It was the way I-pin looked up to Tsuna, a role model she loved and adored with all her heart. It was the way Tsuna made sure that Fon always comfortable in his house, always included.

Fon had thought he could come to call Namimori home, only to realize, that he already did.

No wonder Reborn had called Tsuna his Sky.

Fon hadn't felt accepted like this in a long time. Not since Luce died (a small bright spot she had been, in Fon's turbulent life). To find it here, to find it in Tsunayoshi, to realize a Sky had been calling him for a long time and Fon had been accepting it without acknowledging it, Fon hadn't expected that.

Tsuna was his Sky. It felt nice to say that again.

"Thank you for everything," Fon said.

"You welcome," Tsuna said, beaming.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Patch Up**

"They don't look too bad. You'll be fine in a couple days," Tsuna remarked, wrapping Hayato's injuries up. Nothing was truly serious. Kyoya did know how to hold back, but it didn't mean he was going to pull his punches. Pushing Hayato to his very limits was the goal. While Hayato was bruised and battered, it wasn't serious enough to call up Ryohei or Shamal for.

Bianchi might still be upset about, but Kyoya was making noise about dragging the Poison Scorpion out for her own training. It seemed that Kyoya wasn't happy with anyone's level of training aside from Kyoko, Reborn and Fon. That was Kyoya, worried that no one was strong enough, that he wasn't strong enough to defend, so his solution was to attack everyone to push them into being stronger.

It seemed the appearance of the Triad did rattle Kyoya's nerves.

"It was a one-sided beating," Hayato grimaced. "I couldn't even land a hit on him."

"But you held up your Flames for over twenty minutes at a time," Tsuna pointed out.

"I couldn't do anything with them!" Hayato cried out.

Tsuna blinked, taking a good long look at Hayato. "Have you realized why Kyoya-senpai didn't let you use any weapons beyond your Flames?" he asked.

"I figured he didn't want my bombs blowing up the dojo," Hayato said.

Tsuna pointed to the hole that Hayato had caused during their spar. "If that was the case he would have done a lot more damage to you for disintegrating the floorboards. I'm not sure of G mentioned to you, but it's actually a lot harder to manifest your Flames without a conductor. For some reason, it's easier to channel your Flames through a gun like Reborn or food like Bianchi. Even my gloves and Kyoya-senpai's tonfas count as conductors. Part of the reason why Fon is an Arcobaleno is because he can summon his Storm Flames with his bare fists. Not just small Flames either. His attacks are large and huge."

Hayato looked at Tsuna with wide eyes.

Tsuna grinned. "Hayato, you held your Flames lit around you and on your bare fists for twenty minutes. That's amazing! Even Hana took months to reach that point. It's only been a few weeks for you. If you can reach an hour, there isn't anything in the world you can't channel your Flames through. You could pick up a plastic spoon and use it."

"R-really?" Hayato asked, amazed.

"Really," Tsuna said. "Don't give up okay?"

"Of course, Tsuna-sama!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cooking**

"Oh that's interesting."

Reborn looked up, curious. "What is?"

Bianchi held up the cookie she had just made. It was not one of her poisonous cookies, in fact it looked downright normal, as if she had bought it at the store. "It was something Ayame-san had remarked to me a few months back. Apparently my poison cooking is a result of the corrosive effect of my Storm Flames leaking into my cooking. If I learned to control it, I could cook normally," she explained.

Reborn took a cookie and took a bite. When he didn't spit it out, Bianchi smiled.

"Acceptable," Reborn said. "I prefer my cookies crunchy, but this is acceptable."

Bianchi's smile grew wider.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Future**

Ienari turned over his mother's question to him in his head. Did he really want to be Vongola Decimo? It was…

In the darkest part of his head, he could say yes.

It was such a tempting idea. The power that would come with the position of Decimo. It would be worth it, to bloodied his hands.

There was a small part of him that was so ashamed. His mother would probably be so disappointed to hear that. But…

A shiver ran down Ienari's spine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Lightning Bolt**

Lampo watched as Haru concentrated. She sat in the middle of the living room, legs crossed and eyes closed. The air slowly grew dense, the first calling of Flames. Eventually, Haru would become fast enough that it would be instantaneous for her, but in the meantime, slow and steady.

A crackle bolt of green lightning startled them both.

"Hahi!" Haru said, startled. Her own Flames flickered, sending off tiny green sparkles around her as her concentration broke.

"Bwhaha! The Great Lambo-sama is powerful!"

Lampo sighed. He should have noticed the cow brat sneaking in. "Oi, that was dangerous," he scolded. He didn't think Lambo was still in the house. Nana was out shopping and Lampo had assumed that Lambo had with her and rest of the kids.

Lambo scowled at him. "Lambo-sama wants to learn too! Then Lambo-sama can become strong and protect Tsuna-nii too!"

Haru looked at Lampo; her eyes pleading. "Why don't we let him?"

Lampo sighed. "Maa, if you insist."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Creative Limitations**

"So, Namimori," Spanner started off. Shoichi had warned him. Told him a bit about this crazy town Shoichi called home. Spanner had seen hints in the conversations they had shared. It was all there. Coming here had just been the final piece of the puzzle.

"You're taking this rather calmly," Shoichi remarked. "I didn't even handle the truth about Spirits and Gods this well."

Spanner shrugged, examining the piece of equipment in Shoichi and his new shared lab. "An open mind leads to unlimited creativity. If we let ourselves be blinded by things people say are impossible, we wouldn't be able to innovate as easily."

Rules, Spanner believed, made to be broken.

"You're right," Shoichi agreed.

Good. That meant they could focus on more important issues. "So if Sight is the ability to see the different frequencies, can we make a pair of goggles that allows us to see it without having to do extra training? The same way we have goggles to see infrared?" Because if Spanner could start observing Spirits without having to wait, he was all for it.

Shoichi blinked. "Huh, I don't know. Let's find out."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Challenge**

"I beg your pardon?" Mukuro said.

"A spar," Kyoko repeated, more slowly. "Both you and Chrome-chan against me."

"Are you stupid?" Ken asked, looking at her with disbelief. He paused, fork lifted halfway up to his mouth as he gaped at her.

Kyoko placed her hands on her hips. She had come over to Ayame's place early enough, seeking a fight against Mukuro and Chrome.

Mukuro couldn't quite believe his ears. Oh sure, he had seen Fuuta's Ranking and knew that Sasagawa Kyoko ranked as the number one fighter in Namimori, but he hadn't really believed it. He still didn't, despite Chrome's insistence that it was all true.

Even if that wasn't the case, he didn't really understand why she was here, requesting a spar of all things.

"I'll spar against you, Kyoko-chan," Chrome said with a soft smile.

Kyoko returned the smile, before pinning Mukuro with another sharp look. "Mukuro-san?" she asked sweetly.

"Why would I want to spar against you?" Mukuro said. What exactly was the point?

"Because you're weak," Kyoko said as a matter of fact.

Mukuro felt a flash of anger.

Kyoko continued on. "Tsu-kun went easy on you. I know where Chrome-chan stands in both potential and current power. But I don't know where you stand, Mukuro-san."

"And what makes you better?" Chikusa asked, pushing up his glasses. He sat next to Chrome, across from Ken, sunlight reflecting off his glasses. "Why should Mukuro-sama even bother? It isn't like we're friends or anything."

"Are they always like this?" Kyoko asked Chrome.

Chrome smiled. "Yes."

Chrome look at Mukuro, sitting across from her. "Please, Mukuro-san? I think it would be good practice," she said softly.

Mukuro frowned. "Fine," he said. If nothing else, it would let him gauge the strength of the strongest warrior in Namimori.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Beat down**

Sasagawa Kyoko was _strong_.

Mukuro hated to admit it, but she was overwhelming strong. There was a ferociously to her attacks. Every time Mukuro blocked her attacks, his bones rattled from the sheer pressure, each hit heavier and heavier until he could barely lift his arms to defend. It was grating to admit that Chrome had to cover him, protect him.

But it was also easy to work with Chrome.

Chrome used her Mist Flames defensively. She successfully threw off Kyoko more than once, hiding both her and Mukuro for a few precious seconds. Offensively, though, she was weak. But that was alright, for Mukuro made up for the attack power.

It wasn't enough to overwhelm Kyoko though, who easily shot through every illusion Mukuro threw at her, shattering each one. Chrome moved to intercept Kyoko, a thick wall appearing between them, before she grabbed Mukuro and slipped to some distance away.

Mukuro used the distance to layer his next illusion. The ground warped, transforming the battleground into a field of lava. Kyoko faltered for just a second, before firing down at the ground. The resulting explosion caused the ground to collapse, breaking the illusion through brute strength.

Overwhelming powerful.

Mukuro could admit that his countdown plan would have never lasted against Sasagawa Kyoko. Given her power and how easily Tsunayoshi beat him, he wasn't even confident it would have lasted against Yamamoto Takeshi. It seemed it had been pure luck that Lancia had taken out Kurokawa Hana.

What made these children so strong?

Chrome summoned a flock of birds that took flight, swarming Kyoko. "Any ideas, Mukuro-san?" she asked, wiping her brow.

It had only been ten minutes since the fight had started and they were soundly being beaten. The entire area was already littered with broken trees and shattered rocks. Their illusions were largely ineffective. Kyoko could break through them with sheer strength. Even the real illusions Mukuro had summoned with his first realm had simply been sniped down without any hesitation.

(How on earth was this friendly cheerful girl such a deadly and precise fighter?)

Three minutes into the battle and Mukuro had been forced to rely on his fourth realm just to keep up. (He grudgingly looked at Chrome who was keeping up without any extra assistance.) The second and sixth realms were both useless at this point and the fifth was a gamble Mukuro wasn't willing to make for a spar. There was third…

That might work.

"Do you know her close combat abilities?" Mukuro asked Chrome.

"She doesn't use them as often," Chrome answered. "I've never gotten close enough before."

"And your close combat abilities?" Mukuro asked.

"I'm not… the best either," Chrome admitted.

Mukuro materialized a copy of his trident and handed it off to Chrome. "I assume you can swing this."

Chrome grasped the trident lightly. "Yes," she nodded. "I can do that much."

"Don't get hit," Mukuro said, irritated. The problem with giving Chrome a trident to increase her range, meant Kyoko would still have the same range to hit her. "Look for the opening and take it."

He would be the distraction this time around, instead of Chrome. His right eye flashed to the third realm, materializing a pack of wolves before flashing back to the first realm to make them real. "Go," he commanded.

The wolves attacked Kyoko. Gunshots went off, as her bullets tore through the leader. Another took its place through the dispelling Mist Flames. Another bullet, followed by Mukuro who threw a bundle of lotus vines, wrapping around Kyoko trying to restrain her.

At that moment before she could break out, Chrome appeared behind her, swinging down her trident.

Kyoko managed raise her gun up in time to block it, but the monument of Chrome's attack, sent her stumbling backwards.

Mukuro smugly smiled. It was a shame that Chrome's attack wasn't strong enough to knock Kyoko out. They would have won if it had been.

"Not bad," Kyoko said. Her brown eyes narrowing. "But let's end this." She lifted her gun, aiming directly at the two of them; a ball of Cloud Flames area collecting at its tip. "Doshaburi!"

The last thing Mukuro remembered was the torrent of Cloud Flames that broke through his hastily thrown up wall.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A Lively Home**

Chrome gently cradled Mukuro's head. He was still unconscious, having taken the brunt of Kyoko's attack. They had lasted far longer than she had expected against Kyoko. Still, there was some pride to be taken that they had at least not only manage to catch her off guard, but forced her to use one of her attacks in order to bring an end to the fight.

"Neesan wasn't joking that together you two would be very dangerous," Kyoko said, sitting next to her.

"I was surprised that we worked together so well," Chrome said. "Mukuro-san doesn't like me very much."

"I doubt that. I think he likes you a lot," Kyoko said. "He only agreed to this spar after you asked."

Chrome didn't know what to say about that. Things… had been interesting so say, living with everyone. Ayame was always willing to listen to her, full of advice. Ken was noisy, loud in a way that filled the space so that it was never really quiet. His banter with Chikusa was something that Chrome woke to every day, something she really appreciated in the early morning. Lancia was gentle for all his tough appearance, offering to help her with the little chores Chrome took upon herself. And Mukuro… Mukuro was just this solid presence, like a pillar of support Chrome was always lacking, but never noticed before.

Home use to be so quiet and empty. To have it so full and noisy, Chrome had been so happy to come to Namimori.

"Chrome-chan," Kyoko said. "Are you really okay being around Mukuro-san?"

Chrome nodded. She wouldn't trade it for anything in the word.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Penny for Your Thoughts**

"Is something the matter, Ienari-kun?"

Ienari looked up to see Hisen entering the room. No one else was at the base yet, everyone undoubtedly still attending their practices and duties to their families. Ienari had bowed out of karate practice, wanting the time to reflect on Nana's question to him.

"My mother asked me if I really want to be Vongola Decimo," Ienari said.

"Do you want to?" Hisen asked. She took a seat next to him at on the red couch.

Ienari clenched his fist. "I want the power that Vongola has." To be strong, that was what he desired, so strong that nothing could challenge him.

"And?" Hisen asked, brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"But I feel like Kaasan would be disappointed in me," Ienari admitted. He didn't trust Nana's life around Tsuna. Why his mother could never see what kind of danger Tsuna was, he didn't understand. "To bloody my hands for the sake of power," Ienari grimaced.

"What's wrong with that?" Hisen asked. "Power is something all humans seek, to stand above others. Humans are weak, like sheep. They need a strong leader, a pillar of support. You're a good leader Ienari-kun. To be a leader, to have that kind power, it's worth a little blood on your hand."

"The ends justify the means," Ienari said. "Thanks Hisen-chan."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Warning**

Reborn unfolded the report he had received from the CEDEF officer. His blood ran cold at the contents of what was inside.

Xanxus was awake and with the Varia. CEDEF were focusing all its attention back home, scrambling to keep the mess contained and Vongola's enemies unaware. There were rumors that the Varia were planning on stealing the Vongola Rings for themselves or at the very least force a battle for the inheritance.

Another coup. Just as Nono feared. A Ring Battle might be the only way to established who would be the one to inherit the position of Decimo. It was only a matter of time before the Varia showed up in Namimori. (Reborn snarled at the idea of any of the Varia even ten miles of Tsuna.)

Bristling at the thought of having to make sure that Ayame was aware, Reborn put aside his worries for Tsuna. There was Ienari to consider. Whatever his feelings regarding Ienari were, it didn't mean it was fair for the youngest Sawada to face Xanxus of all people. Xanxus may have been frozen for eight years, but it didn't change the fact that he was lethal and well trained. Right now Ienari didn't stand a chance against him.

If a Ring Battle was held now, it would be slaughter.

Not only that, the rest of the Varia were equally dangerous. Ienari's Guardians would be devoured.

Wait.

Ayame had mentioned before that Xanxus was not qualified to be Decimo.

Reborn folded up the report. It was time to have a talk with her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Sharing Info**

Finding Ayame was surprisingly easy.

She showed up for dinner.

Ienari had eaten earlier before heading out, no doubt to visit his friends. Ayame had shown up with her roommates in tow. Mukuro's three friends were recruited by Nana to help clean up, leaving Mukuro, Chrome and Tsuna to watch the kids.

Reborn watched, amused, as Lambo fearlessly climbed on Mukuro. Mukuro was a hair trigger away from throwing the boy off him. Chrome was brushing I-pin's hair and Tsuna was listening to what Fuuta had ranked today.

He hopped over to where Ayame was sitting, over by the sliding door, gazing out at the night sky. A full moon hung in the sky, softly glowing.

"The Varia have broken out Xanxus," Reborn said without preamble. He offered this piece of information as an olive branch, on the off chance she was unaware of it.

"I know," Ayame said. She nudged a gray cup with a stylish K logo on it towards Reborn. The smell of freshly brewed tea filling the area. This was her olive branch it seemed.

Ayame cupped her hands around her own cup. "Kamikawa already alerted me. Judging from the information flying from the Varia Headquarters, Xanxus isn't fit to move yet. He'll have to recover his ability to move before they make any plays," she said.

So, they had time then. Not much, but time. Plans already began to form in Reborn's head.

"You had mentioned before that Xanxus couldn't inherit Vongola," Reborn pressed.

"He's adopted," Ayame answered.

_What_. Why didn't Nono tell him _that_?

"Vongola's Sky Ring demands a blood relative," Ayame said. "Despite Xanxus' greater experience, with the death of his brothers, it became a sealed deal that inheritance of Vongola would fall to the Sawada Family."

Reborn vehemently swore in his head.

"Xanxus will probably force a Ring Battle to prove that even with the blood claim, Ienari isn't strong enough to lead Vongola. It's only a matter of time before they come to Namimori," Reborn said.

Ayame looked down at him. "Let them come," she said. She returned her gaze towards the night sky, taking a sip of her tea.

"Tsuna-."

"No," Ayame cut him off. "No. Tsuna still doesn't want to be Decimo and don't you dare ask him otherwise. He doesn't need to martyr himself for Ienari," she mumbled.

Reborn glanced back at the living room where Tsuna was smiling at Mukuro and Lambo's antics. His heart ached at the thought of tainting Tsuna like that, but power of Vongola wasn't something Reborn was confident in handing over to Ienari.

"Ienari isn't going to be a match for Xanxus," Reborn said, playing his next card. "Nor will his Guardians be."

"Is that what you're supposed to teach him?" Ayame lightly mocked. "If it's time, I can buy you a few more weeks at most."

"How exactly?" Reborn asked.

"Like I'm going to tell you that secret," Ayame said.

Reborn let out a frustrated groan. One day he was going to kill her over her secrets.

"A few more weeks?" Reborn questioned, letting the secret lay. Pushing her would get her to close up and Reborn (hate to admit but) needed her help.

"Hmm, by the time summer vacation rolls around it'll be impossible to keep them from coming. It would be too obvious and won't stop them. Short of confronting them myself," Ayame said plainly.

That just wasn't enough time. Reborn considered his options. He would have to call in some favors and bring in some people who could train up Ienari's Guardians to an acceptable level.

"And if Xanxus wins?" Reborn questioned. "He could hide that he isn't a blood relative or be so overwhelming powerful that the rest of Vongola will side with him."

"Vongola isn't a threat," Ayame said confidently.

Reborn bristled at her words. No one was explaining how Vongola, the bloodiest and largest Italian Famiglia in the world, wasn't a threat.

"It never was. However, it is in our best interest that Ienari does win," Ayame conceded. "Ienari winning means this all resolves peacefully."

… What did that _mean_?

Ayame took a sip of her tea, ignoring Reborn's simmering frustrations. "An incentive," she said finally, pinning Reborn with a sharp look. "If Ienari and his Guardians win the Ring Battles and cement Ienari's position as Decimo, I'll tell you the 'why'."

It took only a second for Reborn to realize what she was offering him. Months ago, Ayame had told him the 'how' behind Namimori's mystery, the aggressive miasma and Ienari's sealed flames. The biggest question that still remained unanswered was the why. Why did Ienari fixate on Tsuna like this? It was most likely tied up in the mystery of what happened between the twins when they were eight.

She was purposely dangling the bait in front of him.

Reborn felt a wave of irritation at this fact, over both the reasons that she knew how desperately he wanted to know and that he had no choice but to play her game. It was even more aggravating that she thought she had to offer said information to him. Reborn took pride in his status as the World's Greatest Hitman. No matter his personal feelings towards Ienari, it didn't change the fact that younger twin was his student. As if he would accept anything less than the best from Ienari. His pride demanded it.

"Deal."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Wake Up Call**

Mukuro stared at the ceiling. Today had been… enlightening. He had underestimated Sasagawa Kyoko. He could admit, in the privacy of his head that the brunet girl had demolished him. She wasn't even trying. Sawada Tsunayoshi wasn't even trying against him.

Such a brutal wake up call.

Mukuro had been so confident before coming to Namimori. The Decimo Candidate was supposed to be a weak civilian. He had been so sure that they would have been easy to overpower. Instead he found a den of monsters.

Monsters disguising themselves as _sheep_.

Sawada Ienari might have truly been a civilian and was as weak as he appeared. That had been the only straight forward thing in Namimori. But everyone else here, they only looked weak. Mukuro wondered why Tsunayoshi had held back against him.

The Arcobaleno might be the reason.

He didn't know what exactly was going on. There was an undercurrent in Namimori, a plan that involved pulling the wool over Vongola's eyes. For all Tsunayoshi had said he wasn't using his twin as a sacrificial pawn, the truth was exactly that. He didn't think the gentle boy had it in him.

Clearly Mukuro had been underestimating him.

Mukuro sunk further into his soft bed, trying to release some of the tension leftover from the spar. His body ached, in a completely different way than what the Estraneo had done to him. Next time he would win.

Speaking of next time… Chrome.

Another monster in sheep's clothing. He had acknowledged it during their spar, but the implications hit him much later. He had to rely on the fourth realm within minutes of the battle and yet Chrome kept up during the entire battle without any _additional support_. Mukuro was easily one of the top illusions the mafia had seen in centuries. There was a reason why he was one of the very few to ever escape from the Vindice.

Mukuro knew his illusions, knew the strength of his Mist Flames. He had his Six Paths of Reincarnation to further boost his ability. Chrome didn't have that and still held her own against Kyoko. The fact that she could cast Real Illusions (no matter how weak or small) without the use of first realm was another tick on the checklist.

On top of that, she had only had her Mist Flames for about two years and wasn't able to see her teacher that often. Just how powerful would she turn out to be after a few more years of experience?

Mukuro lifted his hand, staring past the colors. Wrapped around his pinky was a thin braid of yellow and green string. It was pulled taut, connecting him to the purple haired girl that was sleeping in another room just down the hall. What that meant though, he didn't know. Just how many mysteries were wrapped up in this little quaint town?

"Nufufufu, what do we have here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now who could that be? Happy Birthday to Tsuna and Reborn! \ o / (I wasn't sure I was gonna finish this in time ;3; )
> 
> **General Notes:**
> 
> See Chapter 7 (Get Up) for Ayame's words to Tsuna. See Chapter 10 (Conviction) for Reborn's words to Tsuna.  
> See Chapter 19 (Drowning in Petals), Goddamn Namimori Chapter 4 regarding Ayame and the red roses issue  
> See Goddamn Namimori Chapter 5 about Ayame and Bianchi's conversation  
> See Chapter 12 for 'how' / Xanxus cannot inherit conversation.
> 
> -.-.-.-
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3 Any theories you want to share? 


	27. Varia and Rings Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Enter Daemon**

Mukuro rolled out of bed just in time as scythe sliced through where he had been laying down. "Who?" Mukuro snarled, looking at the intruder as he grabbed his own trident.

It was like looking in a mirror. A man loomed in front of him, scythe posed to swing again. He had a lighter shade of blue than Mukuro's own hair, styled in a similar fashion and dressed French-like blue military jacket and white pants.

"Nufufufu," the man said. "Not bad, but not good enough!"

Snakes dropped down from the ceiling. Mukuro swiped at them, slicing them in half before they dissipated into a blur of Mist Flames. A Mist User. What reason did he have to be here?

Mukuro threw up a storm of feathers, using the distraction to slip out of his room. He tripped as a chain shot out of nowhere, wrapping around his feet. Mukuro flipped onto his back, just in time to see the scythe swing down at him…

And was blocked.

"Daemon-sensei!" Chrome called out, blocking the scythe with a copy of Mukuro's trident. "What are you doing?!" She stomped her foot, looking angry; her single purple eye narrowed.

"Nagi darling," Daemon said. "Please move aside."

"No!" Chrome shouted.

Mukuro stared at the hilarious picture unfolding before him. Chrome who didn't even reached this man's shoulders, dressed in her pink nightgown and visibly upset. The man, in response, took a step back from Chrome's irate anger.

Several other doors opened, revealing the sleepy and concerned faces of Ken, Chikusa and Lancia, each one armed and warily looking out into the living room.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ken grumbled.

Before anyone could say anything, the temperature in the room dropped into a freezing cold. Everyone froze as a flare of killer intent filled the area, choking any words anyone would say.

" _Yes._ _ **What**_ _is going on?_ "

Ayame stood by the kitchen, arms crossed and frigid smile in place. Her comfortable state of dress did nothing to tamper down the simmering anger radiating from her. In the dark, her golden eyes gleamed, daring them to challenge her while she was like this.

"Ayame," Daemon started.

She didn't let him finished. "I was asleep. For the first time in the last several weeks, I have voluntarily fallen asleep at the correct time at a schedule of my own making. I didn't fall asleep at some odd hours or because I had to rely on meds or because Tsuna ambushed me and made me take naps. I willingly went to sleep, I fell asleep, I was comfortable, I was even having a nice dream. All signs pointed that this was probably going to be the first time I was going to get a good's night rest." Ayame had stalked over to Daemon and jabbed him in the chest. "So helped me, you better have a good explanation for this or I will exorcise your spirit into the next life, no matter what Giotto says because You. Woke. Me. Up!"

He stared at her.

"Neesan," Chrome whispered quietly.

Ayame took a deep breath.

CRUNCH!

Everyone jumped as the table was crushed into pieces. Ayame pinched the bridge of her nose. She took another deep breath.

"Daemon, leave," she snapped. "Before I decide to haul you out into the forest to kick your ass and in case you forgot, I was taught illusions by a kitsune and I can overpower anything you throw at me. You will come back in the morning and will explain what the hell you're doing here. Failure to show means, I get to set Alaude on you."

Wisely, Daemon faded away, disappearing.

Meanwhile, Mukuro stood, finally freed from the chains.

"Are you alright Mukuro-san?" Chrome asked.

"Fine," he curtly responded. "Who was that?"

"That was Daemon Spade," Chrome said. "Giotto-san's Mist and Vongola's First and Second Mist Guardian. My teacher for Mist Flames."

"Why the hell did he attack Mukuro-sama?" Ken snapped.

"Because he's an idiot," Ayame said dryly. "Let's figure this out in the morning." Her shoulders sunk as she let out a tired sigh.

That Mukuro could agree with.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**An Old Friend**

Tsuna smiled, watching as Reborn dragged Ienari out of the house at the crack of dawn. If it was one thing, he definitely did not envy Ienari being stuck with Reborn's training methods. Being a bystander with bullets flying about was more than enough.

He turned his attention back to the rising sun, greeting the morning light.

"Tsuna!"

Tsuna blinked, looking down. Waving at him, was a redhead boy. Tsuna brightened. Now there was an old friend that Tsuna hadn't seen in long time.

"Enma!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Kozato Enma**

Reborn smugly trotted into the house. This morning's training session went off beautifully in his opinion. If Ienari was a little charred and twitching from the electric shocks, well, it was for a good cause. Next time, Ienari would dodge faster. Besides, Reborn could afford to go harder on his student. Ienari didn't know it, but the Varia would be on the move sooner rather than later.

He noted the pair of unfamiliar shoes at the door. A new guest had arrived it seemed. Not uncommon. The more Ienari stayed out, training or with his Guardians, the more Tsuna's friends seemed to relax and visit more often. The shoes were worn, so it wasn't as if Yamamoto had come over in new shoes, no it had to be someone new.

Sure enough a redhead boy was sitting in the kitchen with Tsuna.

"Ah, Reborn," Tsuna said. "Meet Kozato Enma. Enma this is Reborn."

Enma nodded. "Hello Reborn-san."

"A friend?" Reborn asked, joining them at the table.

Tsuna smiled. "Yeah… it was interesting how we met."

"Interesting," Enma said. "Sure, saving my family from a madman is interesting."

Reborn blinked. There… was a story there. His curiosity wiggled. He wondered what had happened.

"Speaking of that madman," Tsuna said. "Have you seen Daemon-san?"

Right on cue, Daemon materialized. "Tsunayoshi! Get the mean pineapple away from my Nagi darling!"

... _What._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**By Chance**

Tsuna was eleven when he met Enma.

It was by chance that Tsuna and Enma had met. Enma hadn't actually intended to be in this part of town and Tsuna… Tsuna could never figure out why he had boarded the train and gone to the nearby town.

On just the edges of the wards that Ayame had set up, Tsuna was wandering this new town, feeling Hyper Intuition guide him. There was something here, only he didn't know what. Behind him, invisible to everyone else, Giotto lingered, worried about Tsuna who was here in this strange town by himself.

That was when Tsuna ran straight into a red haired boy. "Oh, I'm sorry," Tsuna apologized. He froze as he noticed a taller teal haired man standing menacingly behind the boy.

Giotto pounced at that moment. "DAEMON!" Shifting downward to the physical plane, he promptly punched his former Mist Guardian in the face.

The redhead boy startled as the appearance of Giotto and Daemon. "What?!"

Tsuna was equally surprised by Giotto's reaction. But at this point he had been friends with someone like Hibari for nearly two years and he had perfected the art of coming up with a believable explanation for the very strange thing that occurred.

"My papa just knows him. They're old friends," Tsuna explained. He led the boy away as Giotto started launching into a tirade at Daemon. "They might be awhile. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Kozato Enma," the boy introduced himself.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Reunion**

Daemon had not expected to see Giotto here. In fact, he didn't expect to see Giotto ever again. Not since they had parted ways all those years ago. Said years had dulled his memory it seemed. Daemon had long considered Giotto weak and a coward.

Yet, standing before him, Sky Flames dangerously lit, orange eyes hard as stone, Daemon remembered why once upon a time, he had called this man his Sky.

"Would you like to explain where you've been all these years, my dear Mist?" Giotto asked sweetly.

Daemon ignored the way his heart lurched to be called someone's Mist, to be called _Giotto's_ Mist. He also acknowledged that this was Giotto at his most dangerous, polite and yet so very angry.

"I owe you nothing," Daemon said. His jaw ached from where Giotto had punched him.

"No, I supposed not," Giotto said mildly. His eyes narrowed in accusation. "But you didn't come _home_."

Daemon had spent the centuries ignoring his Sky, ignoring his family. For all that they were tied and bound to the Vongola Rings, Daemon never appeared before the others, never sought them out, even when the Mist and Sky Rings were together in a firm handshake in the most current successor. He needed Vongola to be the strongest. Elena would never accept anything less.

Giotto stared at him; his expression slowly morphing into tired resignation. _Pity_. Daemon hated it. It was the same look Giotto had when Daemon betrayed him. Anger was very much preferred.

The two of them stood in the nearly empty streets, on the cusp of physical, tangible, and yet relics of the past, of a time long gone.

"You never understood," Daemon accused. "You were weak and a coward. Dismissing Vongola's military forces made us weak. It invited our enemies to attack us. We should have risen up against them and conquered them."

Even after all these years, he still didn't understand!

"Why are you here Daemon?" Giotto asked.

Daemon didn't answer him. Instead he leapt at him, poised to attack.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Counterparts**

Enma was a nice person. Tsuna had, in the time away from Giotto, had learned how Enma had a little sister, was also bullied in his school and was the same age as him. There was something else, something that made Tsuna's Hyper Intuition hum.

It felt like Locked Flames. That small muffled sense of awareness, only tiny embers and not a raging fire yet. It didn't feel normal though. Not like any of the Flames of the Sky. Not unless it was Mist Flames. Tsuna had yet to meet someone with Mist Flames.

"So who is he?" Enma asked, warily glancing over at the two men.

"I think he is Daemon Spade. Papa knew him, but I never met him," Tsuna explained. "Daemon is a friend that Papa hasn't seen a long time. Papa has been looking for him."

"I've never seen him before," Enma said, nervously. "What did he want with me?"

Tsuna couldn't say for sure. But… maybe history was repeating itself. Enma looked remarkably like how Giotto described his best friend, Cozarto. Giotto had recently confided on the story of how he had ended up in Japan in the first place and what Daemon's role that caused Giotto leave his home country.

A burst of Mist Flames exploded. Tsuna's attention snapped to Giotto. "Papa!" he cried out. Something was wrong. Why were they fighting?

"I won't let you stop me," Daemon shouted. He swung down his scythe. Giotto caught the blade with his hands, Sky Flames lit.

Giotto jumped back as Daemon summoned a pack of tigers illusions. The illusions immediately collapsed as Tsuna pierced them with his golden swords.

"What is that?" Enma shouted.

Tsuna pushed Enma behind him to protect him. "I'll explain later!" he said. Right now, it was more important to stop Daemon from his rampage. Tsuna didn't know why Daemon wanted Enma but this was bound not good.

"Daemon!" Giotto shouted.

"No, even all these years, you still don't understand!" Daemon shouted back.

Tsuna scrambled, trying to figure out the best way to help Giotto. His Hyper Intuition flickered, urging him forward to stop the two of them. This was wrong. Behind him, Enma shivered, feeling the creeping chill that was beginning to gather.

He leapt between Giotto and Daemon, encasing them both in ice. "Enough!" Tsuna roared. "Why are you two fighting?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Descendant (Come Back Please)**

Laughable. Who did this child think who he was? "One of yours, I supposed," Daemon sneered at Giotto. The same unruly hair, the orange gleam of Hyper Intuition, the Sky Flames, even the same freezing ice of Zero Point Breakthrough.

The same foolishness that cause the child to jump between two dangerous and more powerful opponents.

"Yoshimune's line," Giotto said. He melted ice with his Sky Flames.

Daemon meanwhile, grinded his teeth, unable to free himself. "And I suppose you're entrusting him to destroy all my hard work," Daemon said darkly.

"Tsuna won't be inheriting Vongola," Giotto said.

"So you and your line still won't atone for your failures. Well at least one of your-"

Giotto's Sky Flames roared to life. Daemon barely suppressed the urge to flinched. He supposed that was a line that shouldn't have been crossed.

The child, Tsuna, placed a calming hand on Giotto and Daemon watched in odd fascination as Giotto took a step back, snuffing out his Flames. "Why do you keep doing this Daemon?" Giotto asked.

"Elena died because you dismissed our armed forces," Daemon said. "I promised her I would make Vongola the strongest-"

"By more violence?" Giotto sharply retorted. "To become that monster that Elena was trying protect the weak and innocent from?"

Daemon reeled back as if slapped.

Giotto continued onward, "The Vongola I created was meant to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, who couldn't rely on the law to protect them. I have watched as the decades went by as my Vongola sank further into darkness, twisted and bloodstained. I have watched it become the very monster I was trying to save people from. I have watched you help it become that."

Giotto's shoulders sagged, his anger burning away. "I do not want to fight you Daemon. It's why I quietly surrendered to your coup. But…" His orange eyes sparkled. "Despite our differences, you are still mines." He stepped forward and melted the ice surrounding Daemon.

"Just come home every once in a while," Giotto asked.

He… he needed time to think. Daemon just looked at his Sky, waiting patiently and still accepting like every Sky was. He drew in a sharp breath, remembering Elena dying in his arms.

Then he vanished.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**That's Life**

If, you had asked Enma what he was going to do today, he would have said something along the lines of "be bullied, survive school, and go home and play with Mami". If you had told him, it would have involved meeting someone his own age with the ability of manipulate light, summon ice, and turn his head on fire, being stalked by what he assumed was a ghost, and witness a strange fight that made no logical sense, he would have laughed and dismissed it.

The latter was what happened and Enma was still having trouble wrapping his mind around what he had seen.

"What is going on?" Enma asked after the teal haired man vanished.

Tsuna looked at Giotto who stood still, staring at the spot where the man had vanished. Turning his attention to Enma, Tsuna dragged Enma away.

"It's kinda a hard story to believe," Tsuna started. "But it starts off with ghosts are real."

That… that was probably not a good way to start the conversation.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Will You Stay?**

_-Present Day-_

"That's how we met," Enma said. "Of course, I later learned that things like that were completely normal for Tsuna."

Reborn nodded. "Why did you come to Namimori today?"

"I haven't seen Tsuna in person for awhile, I like to physically see him to make sure nothing too crazy hasn't happened and he just didn't tell me," Enma said dryly.

That Reborn could empathize with. Honestly the amount of trouble that happened in Namimori, it was wonder no one had noticed. Or perhaps that was the willing blindness? The Triad attack should have garnered more attention, and yet it didn't.

He looked over to where Tsuna was still trying to calm down Daemon. "And him?" Reborn asked.

Enma shrugged. "It's pure coincidence that we're both here today in Namimori, I think. Daemon comes by once and while to check up on me, for reasons I never really quite understood. I'm not sure why he is here in particular."

"Enma," Tsuna said, walking over to them. "Can you calm down Daemon? I have no clue what he's talking about."

"I doubt I'll be able to do, but I'll try," Enma said, wandering over to Daemon who was still complaining about how his darling Nagi was being corrupted.

"So that's the missing Mist," Reborn said. He had met all of Giotto's Guardians, except for Mist.

"Yes," Tsuna said. "Daemon, unlike Papa and the others, can be wander more freely throughout the world."

Ah. That would make sense.

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked after the beat of silence.

"Yes?" Reborn asked, curious. Tsuna's body language had immediately tensed, shifting in nervousness.

Licking his lips, Tsuna hesitated. "After… after you're done tutoring Ienari, will you stay?" The last part was whispered so quietly, Reborn strained to hear it.

Stay? Reborn was stunned, as if the air had been knocked out of him. Tsuna was asking him to stay?

Tsuna didn't wait to hear Reborn's response. "IshouldhelpEnma!" he said, rushing off to reassure Daemon.

Reborn stood, stock still before quickly slipping out the door. He needed to think about Tsuna's request.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Newspaper**

Hana scanned the newspaper as she munched on a piece of toast.

_Kinga Elementary School Now Open!_

_The final part of the elite elevator school is finally complete. Originally the elementary school division was supposed to open before the middle and high school divisions but setbacks during construction delayed its opening by near two years. Kinga is now accepting applications for students who wish to enroll for the next upcoming school._

"They finally finished huh?" Hana's father said. "They had been working on building that school for awhile."

"You should apply to the High School division, dear," her mother said. "It's one of the elite schools in the area still close to home. The best of the best, you will be able to get into any university you want if you attend there."

"I'll think about it," Hana said. It really depended on the rest of her friends.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Meeting Mists**

"I don't approve of Mukuro," Daemon announced as he barged in on the Ayame's Household during breakfast. He had left a confused Tsuna and Enma behind, wanting to make sure Chrome was fine.

Lancia placed a plate of sausage on the table, dressed in a frilly apron which had been a gift from Nana. Ken stabbed at his eggs. Chikusa paused, chopsticks halfway up to his mouth. Chrome looked up at him, a curl of steam rising bowl of miso soup in her hands. Mukuro glance his way, reaching for the pepper. Ayame was resting her head on the table, wrapped around a cup of green tea and ignoring everyone as they ate breakfast around her.

It looked terribly domestic, warm and full of the fresh smells of breakfast.

"Have a seat sensei," Chrome said. "Lancia cooked breakfast today."

"But," Daemon started, at a loss of words.

Chrome gave him a _look_.

Daemon conceded defeat and materialized a chair. His precious Nagi had grown into a fine woman. Chrome was a smart girl, brilliant and talented and so help him, far better than Alaude's students. But it was simply unacceptable.

"Can't you do something about it?" Daemon asked Ayame.

Ayame lifted her head long enough to glare at him. "Imagine if it was red."

That was a terrible idea!

Satisfied by his reaction, Ayame continued, "Then be happy it's just green and yellow."

"Daemon-sensei, Mukuro-san wants to learn how to do real illusions. Will you teach him?" Chrome asked.

No! "Nagi, dear, are you sure you want him as a partner?" Daemon asked. "After all, he's-"

"A mass murderer and wanted criminal?" Mukuro finished dryly.

"Pot meet Kettle," Ayame muttered.

Daemon glared at both of them. That was not the point here. The point was Nagi was an innocent girl who deserved far better than that pineapple.

"Mukuro-san and I do work well together," Chrome said.

"Think of this way," Ayame said airily. "Now you'll have as many students as Alaude."

That… was quite promising. Alaude had been too smug when Daemon had come back and he was studentless until he had met Chrome.

"Can he keep up?" Daemon asked, looking at Mukuro.

"Of course," Mukuro answered.

"Daemon-sensei is a strict teacher," Chrome said.

"It should be easy enough," Mukuro said with smug confidence.

Cheeky child.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Stay or Go**

Tsuna's words rolled around in Reborn's head.

' _Will you stay?'_

He would never admit it, but he felt adrift, bewildered, and confused by those words. Had it been anyone else, Reborn would have shrugged it off. But Tsuna was his Sky. His Sky was asking him to stay.

But why?

It was pretty clear that Tsuna wanted nothing to do with Vongola and by extension the mafia. Even disregarding Tsuna's connection to Vongola, why would Tsuna want him, a hitman, around? That was inviting needless danger, if Tsuna truly didn't want anything to do with Vongola.

Reborn had every intention of leaving to protect Tsuna from his enemies. There would be more than enough people ready to hunt down Tsuna and kill him if anyone ever learned that Reborn considered Tsuna his Sky. Reborn hadn't climbed to the top without making a few enemies.

Tsuna could, given what Reborn had witness so far, take care of himself and Ayame guarded Namimori like a jealous dragon guarded its hoard. But it wasn't perfect, it wasn't infallible. The Triad's last attack was more than enough proof that no matter what sort of protection was on Namimori, there would always be someone who would slip through the cracks.

_"You should ask yourself what is Tsuna worth to you."_

Was Tsuna worth staying? ...Yes. He was.

Honestly at this point, Reborn should throw in the towel and just wait to see what happened. It chafed him to concede defeat but he had to admit there was a plan in place, a plan he wasn't privy to. Which was understandable, trust was a rare commodity. It wasn't like Reborn was used to having trust. (But it still hurt, honestly, not be trusted. Whether it was because of Ayame's pettiness, or the fact that he was technically still on Vongola's side as long as he was Ienari's tutor, it hurt that he wasn't trusted enough to know.)

The better question was perhaps could he stay? Tsuna was worth staying for, but could he, forever the traveler, settle down here? Reborn had traveled all over the world for wherever his hits had taken him. Italy was his home country more because he had been born there, a familiarity that he allowed himself to indulge in.

There were still his enemies to contend with. Most won't think of him switching his primary headquarters to Japan, but a few would probably ask why and start digging.

' _Or I could leave the mafia.'_

Reborn froze as that thought crystallized. That… that was an option too. It wasn't a complete impossibility. He was a freelancer, no loyalty ties anywhere. His secrets were his own, though Nono might object as he knew a great deal of Vongola's secrets.

But Reborn was skilled enough that he could, fake his own death and wipe out Reborn the World's Greatest Hitman from existence.

Now, could he stop being a hitman?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Rust and Water**

Spanner blinked, unsure why Shoichi had brought him to a dojo.

"Shoichi!"

"Takeshi-san!"

A black haired teen came out, grinning at them. "You're Spanner huh?" he said.

Spanner gave a short salute. He vaguely recognized this as one of Tsuna's many friends that Tsuna, Ayame and Shoichi had mentioned. Spanner was still going through the motions of adjusting to life here in Namimori and had yet to meet everyone as Shoichi and he had jumped straight into experiments. "Yo."

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Has Shoichi explained to you Dying Will Flames yet?"

Spanner nodded. They had talked extensively about Spirit Energy and Dying Will Flames. It was a fascinating subject and Spanner had millions of experiments he wanted to try. Which was partly why he wasn't sure why Shoichi had brought him here, now, today. There was so much more Spanner wanted to test first.

"Do you want to learn?" Yamamoto asked.

Spanner blinked. "What?"

"Dying Will Flames?" Yamamoto said. "Tsuna mentioned you're a Lock Flame User. Rain Flames."

"Takeshi-san is also a Rain Flame User," Shoichi explained.

"I can learn those?" Spanner asked. He hadn't considered that.

"If you want," Yamamoto said.

"Yes," Spanner said as thousands different ideas popped into his head.

"Great!" Yamamoto said, grinning. "Let's get started."

Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Catch Up**

After Daemon had disappeared, Tsuna and Enma shared a look and shrugged. Daemon was a bit of mystery all things considered.

"How are you doing Tsuna?" Enma asked.

"It's been alright," Tsuna said. They moved their conversation into the living room. Tsuna grabbed a pillow, sitting on one end of the couch. Enma took the other end, sitting cross legged facing him.

"And Vongola?" Enma asked.

"Everything… everything is going according to plan," Tsuna said. "As far as I know. Neesan might be worried about things and hasn't mentioned it yet, but I believe it's fine." It was a gamble to rely on this plan, but Tsuna didn't want to fight, didn't want to resort to violence unless he absolutely had to. So Plan C was the nice peaceful attempt.

"I am worried though," Tsuna confined.

The absolute best part about Enma was the fact that he was an outsider. He was a friend and he was the heir to the Simon Famiglia (which if they chose so, could continue to remain unknown to the mafia; Simon was more of a relic of a past, a proud heritage and none of their family members were rushing to become criminals). He was outside of the insanity of Namimori, with no real connection to the active underworld, except for the blood flowing through his veins.

As such, Enma has always provided a different perspective at Tsuna's situation. Tsuna carefully filled in his friend everything that had happened since the last time they had met. He told Enma about Mukuro, the approach of the Varia, the Triad attack, even his worries regarding Ienari and Vongola.

"I get it. I'm an older brother too," Enma pointed out. "Your situation with Ienari is nothing like mines and Mami though. I understand the urge to protect our siblings, but Ienari has done nothing to deserve that from you."

"But-"

"No," Enma cut him off. "No buts. Tsuna, he's not worth it. He isn't worth you sacrificing your heart, especially when he doesn't deserve it."

No, Ienari did not. Tsuna felt his shoulders relax. Ayame had told him something similar, but it was different to hear it from Enma who was also an older brother.

"Any suggestions about the rings?" Tsuna asked, lips curling into a smile.

Enma shrugged. "I think a battle royal is the best way honestly. Hibari-san and Kyoko-chan won't accept anything less. The stronger one between them gets the Ring."

"That's going to cause so much damage," Tsuna groaned into the pillow.

Enma laughed. "Think of this way, they'll finally settle which one of them is stronger."

"I hope Neesan knows somewhere that no one will mind it disappearing off the face of the planet," Tsuna said, scrunching his nose up.

Honestly, his Clouds were so destructive.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Can't Stop Me Now**

"You look like shit man," Hachirou said, hauling Ienari onto the beat-up couch in their base. He had found Ienari twitching on the ground from Reborn's training.

Ienari merely groaned. His entire body ached and throbbed. "Reborn has been brutal lately. More than usual."

"Oh?" Hideki asked. The light reflected off his red rimmed glasses. "Any idea why?"

"He mentioned some rival coming," Ienari said dismissively.

Twin looks of bloodlust gleamed in both Hisen and Fuun's eyes. "Oh really?" Hisen purred. Her iron fan snapped open, just barely hiding the delightful grin on her face. "That sounds perfect."

"Maybe they'll be stronger," Fuun said, twirling a kunai. "The Triads weren't any fun."

"Not everyone thinks fighting is fun," Kensuke grumbled. No one paid any attention to his words.

"What can I do?" Kaori asked, leaning forward and eager.

"I'm sure Reborn will be by to run all of you through your paces soon enough," Ienari said. Ienari would take down anyone who came his way. Nothing would stop him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Blessed Light**

Tsuna sat down with Lambo. There was one more thing Tsuna wanted to confirm.

"Tsuna-nii?" Lambo asked.

Tsuna smiled. "Did you have fun today?"

Lambo nodded. He had gone with Nana, I-pin and Fuuta to the aquarium. "Yes!"

"That's great!" Tsuna said. "Lambo, do you remember how we told you to be very careful with your Ten Year Bazooka and not to use it so often?"

"Lambo-sama has been good!" Lambo protested.

"I know, I know," Tsuna said. "I do have a request if you don't mind. I would like to talk to your ten year later self."

"Okay!" Lambo pulled out the purple bazooka and disappeared in a smoke, revealing behind his older counterpart.

"Tsuna-nii!" Lambo greeted.

Tsuna recognized the ring with a green gem on Lambo's finger. Well that answered the first question. He was a little disturbed to learn that his future self had given Lambo the ring. Lightning, like Rain, was one Tsuna thought he only had one choice in. Haru didn't have great control over her Flames yet, but Lambo was only five. It felt irresponsible of him to give Lambo something so potentially dangerous. "So I guess you do get the Lighting Ring," Tsuna said.

Lambo glanced down at it, following Tsuna's line of sight. "Honestly, Tsuna-nii, you never told me why I got it instead of Haru-nee. But Haru-nee had her own ring so, I assumed that was why." He shrugged. "You can always change your mind too, Tsuna-nii. Just because I currently have it doesn't mean you have to give it to me."

Ayame most likely went ahead and made the extra rings and Haru probably turned Tsuna down when he had offered it to her. Still, it was very responsible for Lambo to make the offer in the first place. His youngest little brother grew up well.

"If it makes you feel any better, you didn't give it to me until recently," Lambo said.

That actually did help.

"I know our time is short," Tsuna said. "So I'll make this quick. Lambo, have you heard of this phrase? Let Justice be done through Blessed Light."

Lambo paled. "Tsuna-nii, be careful." He disappeared in a puff of smoke and younger Lambo reappeared waving around the piece of grape candy he had received.

"Grape candy!" Lambo said.

Tsuna smiled, hugging Lambo. "Thank you, Lambo."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**War Council**

Three days after Enma had left, a meeting was held.

Tsuna looked around. Sitting around the table were his oldest friends. To his left was Kyoya, to his right was Kyoko, his two strongest elements. On the other side of Kyoya was Takeshi and on the other side of Kyoko was Hana followed by Ryohei. Directly across from Tsuna, in between Ryohei and Takeshi was Ayame.

'A war council,' Tsuna thought, amused. Everyone currently in the room was armed and dangerous in many different ways.

"I don't think we had one of these in awhile," Tsuna opened up the conversation. "And I think we should all get up to date on everything."

The recovery from the Triad attack had finally settled. The last repairs have been accomplished and everyone's wounds were fully healed.

There was much to discuss. So many different moving parts, many different things that had be covered. Some decisions had to be made. Tsuna wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page.

"Is this about bring the others into the loop?" Hana asked, crossing her arms.

"Hayato, Chrome, Haru. How much does Shoichi and Spanner know?" Kyoko asked.

"More than those three, but not as much as the rest of you," Ayame said.

It went unspoken that no matter how fond Tsuna was of Reborn, Reborn was still in a contract with Nono. As long as his (temporary) loyalty lied with Vongola, they couldn't risk it.

"What about Fon?" Ryohei asked.

"No," Kyoya said. "Not until the baby hitman is cleared. Same for the herbivore doctor and poison scorpion."

"Make sense," Takeshi said. "They are friends. Wouldn't be nice of us to bring one of them in when they can't tell Reborn. Tsuna can't tell Reborn yet and Tsuna likes Reborn."

"And Mukuro?" Ryohei asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

Silence fell. "Chrome can decide that, whenever you fill her in," Ayame said. She rubbed her forehead.

"Well, all of that aside," Tsuna said. He placed a box on the table and opened it, revealing seven innocent rings. Across from him, Ayame let out a small 'oh', realizing what exactly this meeting was about.

"Kyoya-senpai, Kyoko-chan, would you two like to fight it out which one of you gets the Cloud Rings?"

The sharp look from both of his Clouds was their answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Counting down to that battle royal... Ahaha. And look Enma showed up! (And for the record this does mean no Shimon Arc). All those references to Daemon being missing, you'll find them only mentioned in the flashback sections. owo b 
> 
> Happy Holidays to you all. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3


	28. Varia and Rings Arc: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**At an Undisclosed Location**

Explosions rang, wiping out everything that stood in its path. The smell of blood mixed with the smoke and ash. Flashes of purple flames sparkled, colliding against each other. Dirt flew as the ground was carved away, leaving deep trenches.

Some distance away, Tsuna watched as his two Clouds fought each other with everything they had. Standing next to him, Hana rolled her eyes at the flashy display. They were the only two watching. Takeshi was off keeping a worried Ryohei calm. Ayame herself was back in Namimori, keeping an eye on things.

"They're not giving each other any room for mistake," Tsuna mumbled. It was both awe inspiring and terrifying to see his Clouds go at each other.

Another explosion shook the ground.

"I'll only fight for the Storm Ring only if Kyoko wins the Cloud Ring," Hana announced. "If she doesn't, give it to Hayato."

Tsuna gave her a sharp look. "Are you sure?"

Hana snorted. "You can decide who gets the rings just by determining who wins this match. Clouds stir up storms. Kyoko has always been the one who summons up my storm, not Kyoya-senpai. The lightning we summon together is Haru, the mist that is created is Chrome. Takeshi is a bit of a toss-up, because he's our only Rain, not counting Spanner who is too new to fit in with us yet.

"On the other hand, Kyoya-senpai has been training the bomber monkey and he's making far better progress with senpai than with me. The cow brat and bomber monkey argue relentlessly, clashing like a storm and lightning often does. Let's not even get started on Mukuro."

"Oniisan and Shoichi?" Tsuna asked.

"Toss up too," Hana said. "They're both balanced enough that they could fit into either group, but you and I both know that Kyoya-senpai and Ryohei have a stronger, if not odd, friendship. Ryohei worries too much about Kyoko."

There was a resulting boom that drew their attention. Kyoko came out of the explosion flying out before crashing to the ground a few meters in front of Tsuna and Hana. She didn't get up.

The smoke cleared, revealing Kyoya who was still standing.

"I guess that settles it," Tsuna said. "Kyoya-senpai gets the ring."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Fate Strings**

The apartment was quiet. Mukuro marveled at it really. It had always been noisy here, since he and the others had moved in. Ken alone could make enough noise to wake the dead when riled up, but it hadn't been this oddly silent before. Privately, Mukuro could admit, it was making him a little unnerved.

He wasn't sure where Chikusa and Ken had gotten to, but Lancia had gone food shopping. Ayame was present; he could see her sitting at their dining table, reading and not making a sound. Chrome was out with the Haru girl. His heart constricted. He glanced at his hand, tracing the lazy wrapping of the yellow and green string, the one that connected him to Chrome.

There was something about Chrome, a mirror image of everything he was not. He was sure it had to deal with this string, but he wasn't sure what it was. And given that strange conversation she had with Daemon a week ago, Ayame knew.

Mukuro frowned, not liking the feeling of not knowing. Knowledge was power. So he swallowed his pride, wandered over to Ayame's side and asked, "What does the green and yellow string connecting Chrome and myself mean?"

Ayame didn't look up from her book. "Fate Strings are strings that connect you to people who will shape your life, for better or worse. Some are predetermined, from the moment you were born, some form after you meet people or as your relationship with them grow stronger. They can snap as you grow apart, change color or grow thicker as your relationship gets stronger."

Well, if that was one thing, Ayame never shied away from explaining things to him. She may not tell him the town's secrets, but knowledge like this, she never held it against him. For someone who didn't want to take them in the first place, she was oddly accepting.

"The color of string determines what type of relationship. The thickness determines the strength of the bond. No one has been able to accurately pinpoint if which finger means anything, but the pinky is an absolute," Ayame explained.

Mukuro stared at his hand. There had always been a thick mess of strings wrapped around his hand. The one that connected him to Chrome had been latest concern, but he had tracked the dual green and red braid that connected him Chikusa and Ken. Something was forming between him and Lancia, him and Ayame, currently colorless and transparent and thin like thread. Then, there was orange, gold, green, yellow and just a tiny hint of purple thick braid wrapped around his middle finger that connected him to Tsunayoshi.

"The exact shade of color takes on multiple meanings," Ayame continued, ignoring the way Mukuro studied his hand. "In your particular case, I'm led to believe that the shade of the green and yellow braid that connects you and Chrome represent family and friendship."

"And the fact that it's on my pinky?" Mukuro asked.

"Read the Red String Legend one day," Ayame said. "But it represents that you two are soulmates. Currently platonic in your case, most likely going to remain that way but not saying that it can't evolve into a romantic one. Of all the Fate Strings, it's the only one that cannot be broken, cannot be avoided. You always meet your soulmate. Always. There is no exception."

Mukuro thought about that. He saw the way Ayame's own was heavy and worn. How Tsunayoshi's one was so large and thick around his pinky, it was more like a rope instead of string, leading straight to Reborn.

"And the one connecting Tsunayoshi and the Sun Arcobaleno?" Mukuro asked.

Ayame growled, irritation flashing across her face. Her book snapped shut. "When it gets that thick, it means they're so intertwined together, they're inseparable. They're each other's world and everything. They herald change in each other, twin supernovas while the rest of us are merely candles in comparisons."

"Is that why you don't like the Sun Arcobaleno?" Mukuro asked. It was fairly obvious that they didn't get along. But it ran a little deeper than a past grudge and while it wasn't like Mukuro knew all of Reborn's movements, he was certain that before arriving in Namimori, Reborn hadn't known who Ayame was.

And just like that the anger was gone and only resignation remained. "Reborn was always going to be the most important person in the world to Tsuna," she said bitterly. "And my greatest fear is that one day Reborn will do something that will break Tsuna in a way that can never be repaired."

That… There was an old grief there, one Ayame was not mentioning. Had this conversation happened when he had first moved in, Mukuro would have pushed harder, trying to find a weakness he could exploit. But right now all there was a bitter taste in his mouth and the uncomfortable knowledge of what would happen to him, should anything happen to Chrome.

Silence reigned. The apartment was quiet.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Group Chat**

'Dibs.'

'NO! You got the last one!"

'Are you two ever going to stop fighting?'

'Doesn't matter, I called dibs.'

'That's not fair!'

'Pot, meet kettle.'

'You two…'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Rain and Cloud**

"Senpai!"

"Hello Skull," Reborn said.

"What did call us here for, kora?"

"Colonnello."

Reborn hadn't seen any of them since coming to Namimori. Time hadn't impacted them, still frozen in their cursed baby forms. He had called them, knowing they had the loosest amount of responsibilities of all the Arcobaleno… and possibly the most open mindedness as well. Colonnello wasn't so strictly attached to the mafia, despite his previous job at Mafia Land. Like Lal, he was military first. Unlike Lal, he didn't hold any loyalties to one particular famiglia. Skull as well was a civilian.

With all the plans flying around in Namimori, Reborn just wanted straightforward people who wouldn't have a secondary agenda and conflicting loyalties he would have to worry about.

"Ah, it's been awhile since so many of us have been gathered in one place," Fon said, joining the three of them.

"I didn't know you were here, Fon," Skull said.

"Reborn called me a while back," Fon said with a smile.

"I didn't think you would ever ask for help," Colonnello said smugly.

Reborn fired a bullet at him which Colonnello dodged.

"So why are we here?" Skull asked.

"The Varia are after my student and his Guardians. I need them strong enough to defeat them," Reborn said, cutting straight to the issue. "Any method is fine, just make them stronger."

"E-even me?" Skull asked. "I'm not much a fighter."

"You're actually serious about this," Colonnello said, surprised.

"They need all the help they can," Reborn said. Loathe to admit it, but he was one person and there were seven Guardians. For some reason, Tsuna wanted, needed, Ienari to win, so Reborn would do as his Sky wished, despite not knowing the full reason why.

(Frustrating so frustrating. The minute he had the chance, he was going to shoot Ayame.)

"Sounds easy enough. In a few months, they should be able to at least hold their own against the Varia," Colonnello said smugly.

"You don't have months. You have weeks," Reborn said flatly.

"Weeks?" Skull said surprised.

Fon nodded. "We suspect that they will force a Ring Battle. The CEDEF will defend the Vongola Rings as long as possible and a mutual friend has agreed to run interference, but it's only a matter of weeks before they arrive here in Namimori."

"The more you can teach them, the better," Reborn said. "Don't worry about anything. We need them to win."

"Alright," Colonnello said. "So, who are we teaching?"

"This way," Reborn said. "I'll introduce you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Training Lineup**

"What's going on Reborn," Ienari asked warily. He was surprised that his tutor told him to gather his Guardians and meet at Ienari's base. There had never been a reason why Reborn had wanted to meet with all his Guardians before. He knew them of course, had met them all before, but this sounded like a formal meeting. So, for Reborn to call him and his Guardians to meet several other babies similar to him, it was surprising and something definitely to be wary of.

"What did you tell your Guardians about the Varia?" Reborn asked.

Ienari crossed his arms. "Just that you mentioned they were gunning for us and you wanted me to get stronger."

"Wait the Varia?" Fuun asked.

"Who's the Varia?" Kensuke asked.

"The Varia is Vongola's assassination squad," Reborn explained. "They are utterly ruthless. Their current leader is Xanxus, the last remaining son of Nono. He has as much of a claim to Decimo as you, Ienari."

Ienari tensed at that. He didn't know there was another person with a claim. Wait… Dame-Tsuna also a had claim too, now that he thought about it.

"They are most likely going to force a Ring Battle, which will consist of a battle between each Guardian. The winner will inherit Vongola," Reborn explained. "Since all of you need to be able to win against them, I have arranged additional teachers. A few of them have arrived."

"Right now, we'll get your Flames abilities up. Inmen, you're with Colonnello. He's also a Rain. Mochida, you're going with Fon who is a Storm." Reborn said.

"And let me guess, I'm going with the Cloud Arcobaleno?" Fuun asked.

"No, your ability to use your Flames is sufficient," Reborn said. "Matsushita, you'll be going with Skull. I want you three able to summon and maintain your Flames before the rest of the teachers arrive."

"And the rest of us?" Kaori asked.

"The rest of you will be joining Ienari and me for training. Make your excuses, you won't be attending school. If you don't get strong enough, you will be dead by the time the Varia arrive," Reborn said, smirk growing.

Ienari felt a chill run down his spine. If he didn't know any better, he would think that everything Reborn had put him through so far would be a walk in the park in comparison.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Friendly Inquiry**

"So how did it go?" Ayame asked as she opened the door. Tsuna had come over once he had seen both Kyoko and Kyoya home.

"Kyoya-senpai won," Tsuna said. "Hana said she wasn't interested in the Storm Ring unless Kyoko-chan had won. So unless Hayato turns me down, it'll go to him."

"And are you okay with that?" Ayame questioned. "Don't just give it to Hayato because you feel like you have to go give it to someone."

"I know. I want to give it to him," Tsuna said, entering the apartment. "Hello Mukuro."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Mukuro said. His eyes narrowed in distrust.

"How are you Mukuro?" Tsuna asked, unfazed by Mukuro's reaction.

"What does it matter?" Mukuro asked.

Tsuna shrugged. "I like to think we're somewhere in between friends and acquaintances. I know you don't like me, but we aren't enemies anymore."

Mukuro snorted, crossing his arms. "Why don't you ask your 'neesan'?"

"I rather hear it from you," Tsuna said.

Mukuro remain silent. Sighing, Tsuna turned to Ayame. "How is Mukuro doing, Neesan?" Tsuna asked.

"Well, he hasn't been getting enough sleep. He has nightmares. I've been warding most of them off, but that's a short-term solution. He's still underweight but Lancia has been cooking more Italian style dishes, which apparently bring some comfort to him compared to Nana's Japanese dishes so I don't expect him to remain underweight for long. However, while he is still functioning, his health could be better; prison and human experimentation doesn't exactly provide good nutrition," Ayame listed off.

"Adapting to school has been an issue and I'm still getting calls about him, Ken and Chikusa skipping lessons. He's struggling with anything written because while Mukuro appears to be decently fluent in Japanese, his reading ability is not up to par to his current grade level. Outside of that, when he bothers to attend, his grades are otherwise decently high. Not perfect, but he's a good student," Ayame said. She paused to tap her cheek in thought.

"What else? Ah. Mukuro has learned all the meditative techniques to learn control over his Sight, but I suspect he is still suffering from minor headaches that he refuses to tell me about. It's nothing I can help with if he doesn't want me to. Daemon hates him for being attached to Chrome, but he managed to learn from Daemon the basics of real illusions before Daemon had to leave."

"What the hell?" Mukuro snarled.

"'He's fine' would have okay, Neesan," Tsuna said.

"That hardly covers anything," Ayame said airily. "Especially considering the fact that he is _**not**_ fine. Koumei reports that people are upset that I've taken guardianship over Mukuro-"

"You've taken what over me?" Mukuro snapped.

"-and per you request, Tsuna, every person, every group who was connected to the Estraneo Famiglia, anyone who inherited their research, who helped them pull off their human experiments, who escaped Mukuro's original slaughter of them, they have either been eliminated or neutralized."

"What?" Mukuro said, stunned.

Ayame gave him an amused look. "Mukuro, no matter how independent you are. You are underage and technically illegally in this country. Of course, I assumed guardianship over you. How else did you think the paperwork so you could attend -"

"Not that!" Mukuro interrupted her. "What do you mean everyone connected to the Estraneo has been eliminated or neutralized."

"Exactly that," Ayame said. "As of exactly forty-nine minutes ago, every person connected to the Estraneo Famiglia is either dead, arrested, neutralized in way that they're no longer a threat or determined to be a victim as well. All information that could be found has been burn to the ground."

Mukuro gaped at her.

"Thank you Neesan," Tsuna said.

"It was your idea."

Wait, Tsunayoshi's idea? Mukuro whirled to face Tsuna. "I thought eradicating them was foolish."

"It is," Tsuna clarified. "But changing them is not. A power vacuum is still a power vacuum. All you have to do is replace them a variable you can monitor."

Something akin to respect reflected on Mukuro's face.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Basil**

"Here Basil."

"Master?" Basil accepted the box handed to him.

"You will be carrying the half of the Vongola Rings to Japan," Iemitsu said. "Get them to my son, Ienari. Be careful. The Varia are hunting."

"Understood! I will get there as soon as possible!" Basil said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Hard**

Fuun gasped, sweat dripping down his face. Kaori had passed out ages ago. Hideki was barely clinging to consciousness but still collapsed to the side. To his annoyance, Ienari was still standing, doing just slightly better than Fuun.

There, like the demon looming over them, was Reborn. Fuun was never realized how lucky he had been that Reborn had only shot him in the leg instead of killing him outright when he had attacked Dame-Tsuna. So this was power of an Arcobaleno.

Training under Reborn was **hard**.

Fuun was used to strenuous training regimes. But this, this was crazy. Ienari did this every day?

"Pathetic," Reborn squeaked. "You will die against the Varia if this is your full extent."

Fuun snarled. Like hell.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Drowning**

Ienari's greatest fear was drowning. If he taught himself how to be the strongest swimmer possible, strong enough that swim club often begged him to leave behind Karate and join them, that wasn't anyone's business.

If anyone ever asked Nana, Nana wouldn't be able to explain why Ienari felt like that. There had never been any incidents at the local pools or the one or two vacations to the ocean they had taken. There wasn't any cause of Ienari to be afraid of drowning and she had no idea where the fear could have come from.

But the sinking feeling, the inability to breath, it followed Ienari in the back of his mind.

In many ways, to someone like Reborn, he didn't quite understand why Ienari had a crush on Hisen of all people. Hisen was an ocean, violent and stormy. She engulfed everything, the rain that drowned. Ienari who was afraid of drowning was in love with the one girl who would drown him in everything, power, love, and pure intensity.

Ienari was afraid of drowning.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Falling**

On the other end, Tsuna's greatest fear was falling.

This too would baffle Reborn. Tsuna loved the sky, found solace in high places, delicately balanced on the rooftops and drew lazy loops in the air, flying with his Sky Flames. Tsuna was comfortable high up in the air.

Tsuna would never tell Reborn, but sometimes Tsuna felt like Icarus, flying so confidently, only to get too close the sun. Falling, crashing back down to the earth with no one to catch him.

Tsuna was afraid of falling.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Mirror Reality**

The reality of it was the one who couldn't breathe was Tsuna. The reality of it was Ienari was the one who fell.

Where did it begin and where did it end?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Shadowy Movement**

Koumei stared down at the reports on his desk. Surely this must have been karma backlash for his role against the Triads. He could already feel a headache beginning to grow and growled. Why he was the one responsible for this mess, he never understood.

He opened up the first folder, seeing a crest that hadn't been seen in years. The Shadow Court was on the move.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**The Deep End**

"Not going to give them any warning?" Fon asked after Colonnello and Skull had gone their separate ways. The first day of training had been successful for the most part but Ienari and his Guardians had a long way to go.

Reborn shrugged.

Fon marveled at the change Reborn had gone since coming here. The idea of Reborn shrugging had been laughable before. It didn't match with his image.

"No. I figured throwing them into the deep end of the mystery of Namimori would be a good thing," Reborn said, smirk growing on his face.

Then again, Reborn hadn't changed that much at all. Fon felt a dash of pity for both Skull and Colonnello. At least Fon had a frame of reference and Kyoya to ground himself on. Skull and Colonnello were going into Namimori completely blind.

Perhaps he should warn them.

Or… perhaps not. It wasn't like they would believe him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Skull**

The smell of something sweet drew Skull in. He found himself in front of a small cafe, following the delicious smell of freshly made cake. A maneki neko cat sign hung above the store, reading Lucky Cat Cafe. Skull pushed open the glass door, hearing the ringing of a bell as he entered.

"Hello."

Before Skull could approach the counter, he was interrupted. A purple haired girl bent down to his eye level. Her single purple eye looked at him, curious. The other eye was covered with a black eyepatch and Skull wondered what had happened to her eye. She looked awfully young to have such a bad injury.

"Hahi! Who is that?" Another girl with brown hair approached them.

"I'm Skull," Skull introduced himself.

"I'm Dokuro Chrome," the purple haired girl introduced herself. "This is Miura Haru."

"Hello Skull," Haru said. "Do you like cake?"

Skull nodded. "I do. I was looking for something to eat." After training with Hachirou all day, Skull could use something sweet and sugary to refill his energy. Cake sounded really amazing right now.

"We'll buy you a slice," Chrome said.

"You don't have to," Skull protested. Despite his appearance, he was the older one here.

"It's fine," Haru said. "Besides, you're Reborn-san's friend!"

Skull blinked, surprised. "You know senpai?" He had known Reborn was a bit of ladykiller, but to have charmed to teenage girls?

Both girls giggled. "Yes, we do. We'll introduce to the rest of our friends later too. You'll really like Tsuna," Chrome said.

Weird, but okay. Skull was all for making new friends.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Colonnello**

"Look out!"

Colonnello jumped out of way, just in time to see a white-haired boy come barreling down the roadway. There was a crash as the wall the boy had just run into collapsed. The dust settled and the boy sat up, rubble falling to the side. Colonnello tilted his head as he realized that the boy was completely uninjured despite running straight into the wall.

"Ah! That was extremely fun," the boy said, pumping his fist. "I wonder if I go faster if I could just break the wall without having to stop."

Wait, wait. Was this boy seriously training how to run through walls?

A grin spread across Colonnello's face. He liked this kid. Sure Reborn called him to help train the future Decimo, but Colonnello could take on another protégé he was sure.

"Hey kid," Colonnello said. "I'm Colonnello, kora. Who are you?"

"I am Sasagawa Ryohei! It's extremely nice to meet you," Ryohei said.

Oh this was going to fun.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Walk Where You Go (I Will Follow)**

Another day of school, another mind-numbing set of lessons. Somedays Hayato wondered why anyone even bother attending the school. The teachers were horrible, the lessons were boring. The only real upside was that he saw Tsuna-sama every day without an excuse and that thanks to Reborn's new training regime, Ienari and his Guardians weren't in class these days.

"Hayato are you free after school?" Tsuna asked.

"Of course, Tsuna-sama!"

"Just Tsuna, Hayato," Tsuna corrected him.

No. Tsuna-sama will always be Tsuna-sama. The depth of gratitude Hayato had for Tsuna was immeasurable.

"Don't you dare turn him down," Hana said, threatening him at lunch.

"Hana," Tsuna said exasperated. "Let Hayato choose for himself."

What on earth was the harpy woman going on now?! Hayato wisely didn't say anything, catching the razor-sharp glint in Kyoko's eyes. Hayato had learned that Fuuta's ranking of Kyoko was well justified. It had been weeks since the last time Kyoko had dragged him out for a spar and his body could still feel the phantom burns. It was as bad as training with Kyoya!

"Take care of Tsuna," Takeshi called out as Tsuna dragged Hayato out of the school grounds after the last bell had rung.

Hayato blinked, surprised that Takeshi wasn't joining them. Not that Hayato was complaining. The baseball idiot was far too carefree for Hayato's liking. But did this mean Hayato had the whole afternoon with Tsuna by himself?

(No, knowing the paranoia around Tsuna, someone, like Hibari was stalking them from the shadows.)

"No one is following us, Hayato," Tsuna said amused.

"Of course, Tsuna-sama."

Lucky Cat Cafe came into view. Hayato would never admit it, but he had a certain fondness for this place. Here was the first time he had hung out with Tsuna and Yamamoto, met Ayame for the first time, shared plenty of cake. Sure he hadn't known what kind of changes his life was going to go through by agreeing to come here with Tsuna for cake. But here was where it all started.

They found an empty booth in the back, carrying off two slices of cakes with them. Hayato watched as Tsuna pressed an inscribed symbol on the wall of the booth. That wasn't the first time Tsuna had done something like. Tsuna wasn't the only one who did it either.

"Privacy wards," Tsuna explained, noting Hayato's attention to the symbol. "I don't think Neesan ever got around to explaining about them to you, but she has a couple set up all over Namimori. Just a little bit of spirit energy is all that is needed to activate them. Neesan can do it anywhere, but since she isn't always around, she inscribed a few permanent, easy to activate in places we visit frequently."

"What exactly do privacy wards?" Hayato asked. That certainly explained why Lucky Cat Cafe was such a popular spot for everyone.

"Just prevent people from eavesdropping on us. Anyone who tries just hears a false conversation instead," Tsuna explained.

Ah. That was a nifty thing. He wondered if Ayame could install some at his apartment. Then he wouldn't have to worry about his neighbors hearing about his somewhat shady bomb building and stuff.

Hayato went rigid as the implications of why Tsuna was activating privacy ward around them. This was a serious conversation.

Tsuna bit his lip, not looking Hayato in the eye, focusing instead of his cake. Hayato felt his heart dropped and dread grow in his stomach. This was it. This was when he was abandoned or pushed aside.

"Hayato. Soon, Ienari and Xanxus will challenge each other for Decimo position. It's most likely that Ienari will win, cementing his position as Decimo," Tsuna explained. "I won't be Decimo, Hayato. I'm not even going to make myself a possible contender for it. In fact, I want to deal as little as possible with Vongola."

Hayato flinched. They had this conversation before, but there had always been a small voice in Hayato's head that believed that Tsuna would inherit Vongola instead of Ienari. Tsuna was so much _better_. Hayato still didn't know why Reborn hadn't reported back to Nono about Tsuna. If Xanxus and the Varia were coming, then the battle to secure the heir for Vongola was at their doorsteps and Tsuna wasn't making any waves.

"Won't that be dangerous?" Hayato asked. "Ienari will get all of Vongola's power."

Tsuna shook his head. "Vongola is not and will not be a threat. I'll explain that in just a minute. But, Hayato, I want to know what you plan on doing. Bianchi often use to say how you used dream about making yourself a big time name in the mafia world. Reborn had called you here with the promise of a position in Vongola. Soon, Vongola will be pulling out of this town, Ienari leaving with them. But do you plan on staying or going?"

That was an easy question.

"Staying," Hayato answered without any hesitation.

Tsuna blinked, surprised at his easy and quick answer.

"But-"

"That's an easy question to answer," Hayato said. It really was. True, those things had been his dream once upon a time. But, what he had found here, the friends he had now. This was more than Hayato had ever wanted, had ever dreamed of having. If it meant leaving behind the mafia, it was something that Hayato was willing to do.

"I don't know what the future holds or where it goes," Hayato said. "But where you go, I will follow. If you go overseas for college, I'll follow. If you stay here, I'll stay here too."

Hayato will struggle every way possible. Funding might be difficult, but he wasn't just going to leave Tsuna alone. He owed so much to Tsuna.

Tsuna smiled at him. "Don't walk behind me," Tsuna said fondly. "Just walk beside me and be my friend, Hayato."

Hayato felt his heart swell. He could do that. It would be his honor.

Tsuna laid a small black velvet box on the table. He pushed it over Hayato.

Hesitation, Hayato opened the box, revealing a ring with a red gem.

"You don't have to accept it," Tsuna said.

"Of cour-"

Tsuna held up his hand, cutting Hayato off. He shook his head. "Hayato, wait. This is very important before you accept it. This particular ring has some possible unfortunate side effects and I don't want to you blindly accept it. But before we get to that, let me explain to you everything you're missing about Namimori and the plans we put in place years ago about Vongola."

_Oh._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Settling In**

Tsuna stretched. Another day had begun. Ienari had already been dragged out of the house by a very determined Reborn. Shortly after that, Ayame had appeared, her wards in tow. Lancia had been dumped into the kitchen with Nana for cooking with Ken and Chikusa as her grumbling but not unwilling dishwashers and prep. Ayame on the other hand sat on Mukuro, another one of her training exercises for Mukuro to gain control over his Sight. Bianchi was wrangling the kids and while Tsuna should go help her, he wanted to have a talk with Chrome.

"How is everything Chrome?" Tsuna asked.

"It's fine, Tsuna," Chrome said softly, smiling.

Tsuna liked that. It wasn't that Chrome's smiles were rare, but lately they had taken an extra soft feel to them, like she was finally settling in. That was an excellent. He wanted her to feel comfortable and happy.

"Everything alright with Mukuro?" Tsuna asked.

Chrome nodded, smile growing wider. "Yes," she said, still soft but much more confident.

She gave Tsuna a curious look. "I won't mind if you give Mukuro the Mist Ring," she said.

Ah. See, this was why Tsuna was so much more terrified of his female friends than his male ones. Ayame knew everything, it was impossible to hide from Hana, Kyoko was Kyoko and now Chrome was following in those same footsteps.

"Who explained it to you?" Tsuna asked, equally curious.

"Hana did," Chrome said. "But it was easy to see." She looked over to where Mukuro and Ayame were deep in a meditative trance. "Mukuro-san might not understand though. He's strange like that."

"I'm not sure if he'll accept it at this point," Tsuna said. Mukuro was an odd case. Tsuna knew without any doubt that Mukuro was _his_. He also knew that Mukuro would be upset to realize that. They were connected, still not quite friends, but definitely not enemies, their relationship influx.

Chrome laughed. "Just give him some time to settle in."

Tsuna would trust Chrome on that.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Storm Ring**

Hayato laid on his bed, holding onto the black velvet ring box. He held it up, seeing the red gem glint in the light.

Tsuna had told him everything, mostly everything. There were still something that Tsuna was holding back on, but everyone had their own secrets. It wasn't like Tsuna knew everything about Hayato after all.

It was quite the story to be honest. He had known some of it, things he had noticed and categorized without knowing the meaning behind it. But it was obvious that this plan had been in the works for many years and was so expansive. It felt like everything that Hayato had known was just a small drop in the bucket.

He wanted to accept this ring, but Tsuna had warned him caution and told him to think about it.

Sunlight poured through the crack of his curtains. Hayato sat up with a sharp realization.

Tsuna had one more Storm. One whom Tsuna had known longer and was arguably closer to. Why was this ring offered to him first?

Or was it not offered to him first?

His insecurities welled up, creeping up like the slowly rising tide.

Jumping out of bed, Hayato glanced at the clock. If he was fast enough, he would catch Hana before school started.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Clashing Storms**

Finding Hana was easy enough. She grumbled but allowed Hayato to talk her into skipping school so that they could talk.

"When Kyoya-senpai comes to bite us to death for skipping class, I'm throwing you to the wolves," Hana said.

Hayato found himself back at Lucky Cat Cafe, in the same booth. Hana had swiped engraved insignia, activating the privacy ward. They had skipped the cake, choosing tea and some biscuits for breakfast.

"Why did Tsuna offer me the Storm Ring?" Hayato exploded, unable to keep to himself anymore.

He had no doubt that Hana knew about it. Her words yesterday made sense in the light of what Tsuna had revealed to him.

"Because I don't want it," Hana said sharply.

"But why?" Hayato demanded.

"Because Kyoko didn't win the Cloud Ring," Hana snapped back, growing irritated.

That made absolutely no sense to Hayato. Why did it matter that Kyoko didn't win the Cloud Ring?

Hana sighed. "Stupid bomber monkey," she mumbled. "You've trained with Kyoko, Kyoya-senpai and me. Which one of us makes your Storm Flames stronger?"

He couldn't beat any of them for starters. It was a bit more even with Hana who wasn't this overwhelming powerful fighter like Kyoko and Kyoya. But Hana still had years of Storm Flames experience on him. His street fighting gave him a bit of an edge. Despite her practiced ease with her naginata, Hayato could tell that Hana wasn't a fighter, was never going to be one. It simply didn't fit her.

Kyoko and Kyoya on the other hands were monsters who crushed Hayato like a bug, curbstomping him every time they sparred together.

But…

He supposed Kyoya was the one who made his Flames stronger. Kyoya got under his skin and irritated the shit out of Hayato. Not as much as Takeshi, but bad enough that Hayato could feel his blood stirring.

"There are additional bonds between other elements beside the one between a Sky and an Element," Hana said, once she saw it click in Hayato's eyes. "Nine of out ten times, a Mist and Cloud will never get along. We're all tied together. Tsuna called multiple elements to his side. You realize that Fon calls Tsuna his Sky right?"

Hayato didn't. A seed of doubt wondered if Fon had turned down the ring as well. Between all the storms, he was the weakest.

"Idiot," Hana said. "Fon was never offered the ring."

Probably because it would conflict with his pacifier. Hayato didn't really understand the whole role the Arcobaleno played but he knew that the pacifiers had to do with something. He felt depressed.

Hana grumbled, rolling her eyes at him. "Stop thinking like that," she commanded. "You're missing the point here. Kyoko is the Cloud that makes me stronger as a Storm. If she had won the Cloud Ring, I assure we would be having a match over who get the Storm Ring because Tsuna wants to give everyone an equal chance. Kyoko didn't win the Cloud Ring which means I'm not interested."

Oh. That made Hayato feel a little bit better.

"You're not an odd wheel out you know," Hana said.

Hayato bit back a bark of angry words, bristling. Of course, she could say that.

"That only reason why you're behind is because you came to Namimori late which given you were born in another country is an understandable and acceptable reason," Hana said.

"But," Hayato said.

"Idiot. If you want it, accept it," Hana said. "Just be mindful of the consequences. Tsuna did explain those right?"

Hayato nodded.

"You worry too much," Hana said. "Tsuna won't hate you if you don't want to accept it. If it feels like you're too moving too slow, it's because there's a lot for you to catch up on what's happening here in Namimori. Think of it this way, if you're drowning in information, Reborn and Fon are even deeper in the dark."

Oh. Hayato hadn't considered that.

"Do you plan on accepting it?" Hana asked.

Hayato felt the ring in his pocket, heavy and feeling so right. He still questioned whether it was right for him to accept it; his doubts lingering. But… if he had the choice, he wanted to. He really wanted to.

"Yes," Hayato said. "Yes, this is mines."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**For Science!**

"Shoichi," Ayame started.

"If it's about the ring, I don't want it. Ryohei can have it," Shoichi said. Tsuna had asked if he was interested in having the Sun Ring for himself. While admittedly it would be nice to have a piece of the project he had worked on, Shoichi balked at the idea of having to fight Ryohei for it. His stomach throbbed at the mere thought. No. Nope. Not interested. Definitely not if he had to fight for it.

Ayame tilted her head, looking at him curious. "Very well," she said, letting the subject drop.

"Should have taken it anyways," Spanner said lazily. He didn't even look up from the gear he was wrenching into place.

Ayame handed him another gear, watching it slot into place.

"I can't fight Ryohei!" Shoichi said. "I'm not a fighter at all."

"That's why we're building mini mosca for you," Spanner said. Said robot was coming along fabulously.

Shoichi eyed it with equal amount of hesitation. While he could build robots, it was never his true forte. Not like Spanner. Ayame on the other hand had been delighted to hear about the robot and all but threw all the supplies Spanner would need to build one. She was utterly curious to see how it would work. Now here they were with a robot almost done.

"Would you challenge Takeshi for the Rain Ring?" Ayame asked.

Spanner shook his head. "No. Not interested. Besides," he said, his eyes taking on an understanding glint. "I know I'm still an outsider in this situation." He trimmed another wire and soldered it into place. Then he closed the panel.

"Alright, let's try booting Mini Mosca up."

"We're sure this is going to work, right?" Shoichi asked.

"That or it'll blow up in our faces," Ayame said with cheer.

"That's not funny Neesan!" Oh, there was a sharp pain in his stomach again.

"It might not move at all," Spanner said.

"Won't know until we throw the switch," Ayame said. She handed out protective goggles to Shoichi and Spanner.

Shoichi sighed, but it was simple a well-rehearsed reaction at this point. He did want to know if the robot worked as well. "For science, then?" he said, pulling the goggles on.

"For science!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Arrival of Rings (Enter Basil)**

Basil looked at the small and quaint town. So, this was the town his Master called home. Tucking securely under his arm was the box containing the half rings of the Vongola Rings. His master was counting on him to deliver these Rings.

He had to find one Sawada Ienari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Basil has arrived. Hello Skull and Colonnello. So nice of you to join us. Ahaha. And the rings are slowly being handed out.
> 
> We now have a tvtropes page! \ o / kuiqejenniferwilson over on tumblr made one and we love it. You can find it [here](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/WeWerentBornToFollow). 
> 
> **General Notes:**  
> [Red String of Fate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_string_of_fate):  
>  Color Symbolism: Colors mean multiple different things. Just looking up comes up with multiple different answers. While there is some overlay, you can easily find a different answer elsewhere. In this case, Green means Family, Yellow means Friendship. Red means Love.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	29. Varia and Rings Arc: Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Reality of the Situation**

Reborn felt something sour in his mouth. He chalked it up to the intruder in the house. One Basil from CEDEF had arrived early this morning with half the Vongola Rings in his hands.

Nana greeted him with cheer, serving him a cup of tea. She cooed and gushed in all the right places as Basil explained that he worked for Iemitsu.

Frankly, Reborn had realized how far he had come in Namimori. It was oddly jarring to see how Nana played the oblivious mother and wife to Basil who had no clue that Nana (most likely) knew exactly who he was and why he was here. Even if Nana didn't, Ayame did and would fill Nana in as soon as possible.

The reality of the situation was beginning to settle in. Reborn clenched his fist in frustration. The half of the Vongola Rings were here. This was the first step to secure Ienari as Decimo.

Reborn hated this.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Ring Inheritance**

Ienari was bouncing with excitement. Something good was about to happen, he knew it. When he woke up this morning, he had expected to be dragged outside by Reborn for another hellish training lesson. Instead, he found a visitor at the dining table.

"Hello Sawada-dono. I am Basil from the CEDEF. I was tasked with delivering the halves of the Vongola Rings to you. With your acceptance of these halves, your candidacy for the Vongola Decimo position is secure," Basil said. He handed Ienari over the wooden brown box bearing Vongola's crest.

Ienari grinned as he opened the box. So these were the halves of the Vongola Rings. They didn't look very impressive, but Ienari could feel the power coming off of them.

All he had to do was win the other half and Vongola would be his.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A Swift Goodbye**

"Leaving so soon?" Nana asked. She wasn't really surprised. If this boy was anything like Iemitsu, as soon as his business was done, he would be gone in the wind.

Basil smiled softly at her. "Yes, I should get back to help."

"Surely you can stay longer?" Nana wheedled. It would be nice to hear what Iemitsu had been up to, considering he barely called. He barely came home.

Sometimes Nana wondered why she tried. She loved Iemitsu ferociously but it was like her husband insisted on killing that flame. Sometimes she wondered if she had fallen out of love and was just mechanically playing a role these days. Maybe she would never know.

Maybe he had fallen out of love too? Was that why he never came home? Or was Vongola and the CEDEF just that more important to him?

(Did he appreciate her faithfulness?)

Here was a relationship built on lies. It was surprising that it had lasted as long as it had. But Iemitsu never explained and Nana never questioned. Now, here she was plotting how to separate her children, choosing one over the other, and keeping just as many secrets from her husband as he was keeping from her.

(Her parents must be rolling in the grave.)

"I cannot," Basil said mournfully. "I should get back to help Master."

"Did he raise you well?" Nana asked quietly. She recognized that childlike adornment. Basil was not just Iemitsu's apprentice but something closer. Bitterly she realized that Iemitsu had raised this child, was close enough to Basil for Basil to consider him as a father figure, yet was never home for his two own flesh and blood.

(If he had been home to help her raise them, would her children have grown the way they did? Would Ienari not attack Tsuna every chance he got? Would Tsuna have more confidence in himself?)

"It's selfish to say this, but yes," Basil answered her question kindly. He gave her a deep bow. "Please allow me to apologize for my Master's behalf that he couldn't always be here."

Apologies don't amount much to Nana these days.

"But, Master will be home soon. He's taking time off to come and visit you and your son," Basil said.

(She didn't miss the singular. Son. Did Iemitsu forget that he had two? How could he only tell the boy he did raised about one of his sons?)

"Ah? Is that so?" Nana said with false cheer.

Basil didn't notice and matched her smile. "Yes. Goodbye Sawada-san. Thank you for the tea."

She waved goodbye as Basil left. Once he was gone, she locked the door and rested her forehead against the door.

"Mamma?"

She looked down to see Reborn, clearly reading the worry behind his impassive face.

"Iemitsu is coming home," she said.

She noticed how Reborn's eyes flicker towards Tsuna's room first before looking at Ienari's. Thankfully, she didn't have to explain. Reborn seemed to understand.

Iemitsu was coming home.

It terrified her more than she thought.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cloudy Sky**

Skull balanced on the top of wall. He had some time before he had to meet his student. Hachirou wasn't very proactive and Skull wasn't exactly sure how to get him to move. He wasn't like Reborn who could motivate his student through sheer fear and awesomeness. Honestly, Skull wasn't sure why Reborn had called him in the first place.

"Ah, hello."

Skull turned to see brown eyes staring up at him, surprised by what he saw. They were gentle looking, more round instead of sharp.

"Hello Ienari," Skull said.

A wryly smile appeared. "You have me mistaken. I am Tsunayoshi, Ienari's twin. Please call me Tsuna."

Huh. Reborn didn't mention a twin. Wait. Tsuna? "Ah, you're Chrome-chan and Haru-chan's Tsuna?" Skull asked.

Tsuna nodded. "Yes. We're friends," Tsuna said, beaming. "They mentioned meeting you."

"I'm Skull!" Skull introduced himself. "I'm a stuntman!"

"That's cool," Tsuna said. "What kind of stunts do you do?"

"Motorcycle ones!" Skull said proudly, all too happy to boast about his favorite activity in the world. He liked that Tsuna didn't immediately dismiss his job. "I ride my bike down ramps and do amazing flips and tricks. I'm the Amazing Immortal Skull!"

"That sounds amazing," Tsuna said. "When is your next show?"

Skull hesitated. He hadn't been able to do any shows since being inflicted with the Arcobaleno Curse. His body just couldn't handle the stress of it. "I haven't had one recently," he said, shoulders sagging.

"You'll have to invite me when you have your next one then," Tsuna said firmly.

"It's a promise!" Skull said. Even if the curse never broke, he would find a way to hold some sort of show for Tsuna and his friends. This was the first time his job was so easily accepted.

Besides, he couldn't disappoint a fan!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Maximum Punch**

"Harder kora!"

"HYAAA!"

The post shattered by the force impact of Ryohei's punch.

"Great job Ryohei!" Colonnello said. The sun hung low over the horizon, slowly rising. The lesson would have to end soon as Colonnello would have to swing by to pick up his other student. Finding out that Ryohei was often up before the sun even rose was a blessing. It allowed Colonnello to train Ryohei without it conflicting with him training Hisen.

Looking at the power behind Ryohei's punches, Colonnello felt a swell of pride. His eyes didn't deceive him. Ryohei was indeed a strong student. It had only been a few days and already Ryohei had increased the strength behind his punches thanks to Colonnello's training.

"Extreme!" Ryohei said. "My punches are even stronger!"

"Alright! One more round before we part ways for the day," Colonnello instructed. "Give it your all Ryohei!"

"Yes!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Don't Bow Your Head**

Tsuna hummed to himself. It was a rare morning where no one had met him at his house as he left for school. He wasn't complaining as he rarely had a moment to himself. Tsuna couldn't blame the others for their paranoia, but sometimes Tsuna appreciated a little breathing room. Plus, it had allowed him to meet Skull.

"Tsuna-sama!"

Well peace was always short lived in Namimori.

"Good morning Hayato," Tsuna greeted.

To his surprise, Hayato got on his knees and bowed. "I will accept Tsuna-sama! Thank you for considering me as one of your Storms!"

'Oh Hayato,' Tsuna thought fondly. He tugged Hayato back up into his feet, dusting the dirt off of his friend.

"I'm happy you accepted the ring, but honestly Hayato. As I told you, walk beside me and just be my friend. That's all I ask," Tsuna said. He smiled gently, feeling warmed that Hayato would go this far.

To think that Tsuna was originally just going to avoid Hayato. Looking back, the idea seemed like an impossibility.

"Of course!" Hayato said.

Another friend had come home.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Feeding Storms (Why am I here?)**

Kensuke gasped for air as Fon threw him again. His head throb from coming into contact with the ground again, seeing the stars for a brief moment. Above him the blue sky stretched for miles, endlessly. He huffed and puffed, feeling the hard ground beneath him, hearing the cry of a bird in the distance. Grasping at the dirt and wondered again why he was doing this.

"Giving up?" Fon asked. "A Storm is relentless. We never give up."

Kensuke felt something brittle in him break. In the back of his head, he could hear Hisen berating him, telling him to stand up. He struggled to stand, reaching for his discarded bouken.

"Where is your resolve?" Fon questioned.

Kensuke faltered. What was his resolve? Why was he doing this? He didn't know.

Still, he _stood_.

"Well, continue to crawl your way," Fon said. "Maybe you'll find your answer in your path."

He would! (He wouldn't.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Stupid, Stupid, Stupid**

Kaori hated this, hated all of this. She was dirty and covered in sweat. If Ienari hadn't asked her, she wouldn't be here. It was so stupid! She was tired and her muscles hurt and ached. Plus Ienari's tutor had the nerve to shoot at her!

Her Sun Flames burst to life, washing away her exhaustion and healing her. A bullet graze her cheek and she glowered to see Reborn staring down at her like she was a bug in the dirt. "You have ten more laps to go. I suggest you run," Reborn said flippantly.

"Keep it up Akemi!"

Kaori swooned. Ienari was encouraging to run! She got back up and ran.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Dodging Bullets**

Hisen could admit her teacher was good. He was an infant, (something she didn't quite understand), but there was no denying that he was powerful. She flared her Rain Flames just in time to slow down his bullets enough for her to deflect with her iron fan.

She grit her teeth as one broke through her Rain Flames and pierced her thigh.

"Ready to give up, kora?" Colonnello asked.

Hisen snarled. "Never."

Colonnello grinned. He took aim. "You asked for it."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Moving Mountains**

"Hey don't sleep!" Skull shouted. His shout fell to deaf ears as Hachirou didn't move.

Skull scowled and bulked up. He didn't want to do this, but Hachirou wasn't giving him much punch. He swung a punch down at Hachirou.

Hachirou managed to roll out of the way. "What the hell?" Hachirou said.

"Stay still and take hits like the lightning you are supposed to be!" Skull said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Stake Your Claim**

"You wanted to see me, kora?"

Shamal lit a cigarette, drawing in the smoke and breathing it out. He knew this conversation had to go delicately. No matter what, Colonnello was still an Arcobaleno which made him dangerous. Unlike with Reborn, there was no friendship between Shamal and Colonnello, just only that he knew who Colonnello was.

"What is your motive for training Sasagawa Ryohei?" Shamal asked.

He had been surprised when Ryohei had come to him saying that Colonnello had offered to train him in the early mornings. It didn't conflict with Shamal's training with Ryohei as Shamal was a night owl, preferring to teach Ryohei in the evenings.

It was fine. Ryohei had proven he could maintain this schedule on top of his schoolwork. Shamal had no idea when Ryohei was sleeping, but figured Kyoko would ensure her brother's health.

If it had been anyone but Ryohei (and Hayato), Shamal wouldn't have bothered by too much. It was simple formula. Shamal was teaching strictly healing and medicine. Colonnello was teaching strictly how to become stronger and how to be a better fighter.

But Shamal could admit the kids had gotten under his skin. Namimori was the closest thing he was calling home and he was protective of Tsuna and his friends. With the shit they had gone through, they didn't need any more people trying to take advantage of them. So if Colonnello was trying to use Ryohei in any way, Shamal was going to remind the Rain Arcobaleno why he was considered to be one of the world's deadliest assassins.

Colonnello crossed his arms and huffed. "I just saw a bit of myself in him. That's all. Ryohei mentioned his evening training were being taught by you. I figured I would just help him become stronger."

"I see," Shamal said. Stronger. All the kids wanted to get stronger. They had people they wanted to protect, a close-knit group that grew larger and larger.

"Don't push him too hard," Shamal grumbled. "He still has to school to attend."

"I won't," Colonnello said. "I thought you already had a protégé, the Smoking Bomb Gokudera Hayato."

"Hayato isn't interested in learning medicine. Ryohei is," Shamal said. "Don't go picking up Hayato either. He has enough teachers."

"Fair enough."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Goggles**

"Success!" Shoichi said. He held up a pair of goggles with comfortable leather straps and green tinted lens. "I think we've finally figured it out."

"Shall we test it out?" Spanner said, just as eager. He pulled the goggles over his eyes and to his disappointment nothing had outside the green tint of the lens.

"What's all the racket about?" Ayame asked, poking her head into the lab.

Shoichi grinned, not feeling overwhelmed by her presence for once. "We finished the Sight goggles," he said before deflating a little. "Only they don't seem to work?"

"Back to the drawing board," Spanner said with a sigh.

"What part of Sight are you testing?" Ayame asked.

"The one to see ghosts," Spanner answered.

Hesitation flashed across Ayame's face. It was enough that Shoichi winced, remembering that particular level of Sight was something she wasn't all that fond of. "We can try a different level," Shoichi offered.

"It's fine," Ayame said. "But if you're testing it, there aren't any ghosts nearby for you see to test if it is working."

"There aren't?" Spanner asked.

"No, I don't like having them around," Ayame said. "So, there are protections and wards to send them off. But if you want, we can take a walk and see if we can find any. If nothing else there's Kasumi-chan."

"Who?" Shoichi asked.

"Little girl ghost who haunts outside of my apartment," Ayame said dryly. "I keep trying to get her to move onto the afterlife, but she doesn't understand."

Shoichi felt a stab of sympathy as he winced. He really didn't want to see a dead little girl. That was probably why Ayame didn't like this particular ability. People died all the time, tragically and brutally. As he understood, Ayame had no way to really turn off the ability either.

"I hope we find someone else," Shoichi said.

Ayame threw him a look of understanding. "Mmm. You shouldn't test it without me either. Not every ghost is friendly after all. That goes especially for you Spanner. Until you get your Rain Flames fully active you have no defense and Shoichi you're going to have to learn how to fight with your Sun Flames if you want to properly defend yourself."

Oh dear. Maybe these goggles weren't such a good idea.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Gameplan**

"So?" Reborn asked. It had been one week since Skull and Colonnello's arrival and Reborn wanted to know where everyone stood. The four Arcobaleno had gathered on Namimori Middle School's rooftop: a wide and open area with some privacy. Kyoya knew they were up there and hadn't been bothered by it.

In the distance, the sun was already beginning set, coloring the sky rich oranges and reds. Their students had been dismissed for the day, staggering home exhausted and barely able to move.

"I'm having trouble with Hachirou," Skull admitted. "Getting him to move is the biggest issue. He's… unmotivated."

"Getting Kensuke to move isn't an issue," Fon said. "But he doesn't know what drives him. He is the type that will lose their way later on in life, following others only to wake up to the crushing realization when reality finally hits him. I think of all of Ienari's Guardians, he is the only one who doesn't truly realize what he's getting into."

"No, he's the only one who doesn't realize and will care when he does realize," Reborn added. "Hachirou is too apathetic. It's all a game to him. Kaori doesn't realize it either, but she's so infatuated with Ienari that as long as Ienari continues to encourage her, she won't care."

"And when she realizes that Ienari doesn't like her that way?" Fon asked.

"She'll go on a killing spree. If they weren't halfway synchronized, I would say she be the type that if she can't have him, no one else can. But, since she's a Sun, she might never get to that point, or simply content with her fantasies," Reborn said dryly. Akemi Kaori was never the ideal Sun and if Ienari would have listened, Reborn would have never recommended her. In Vongola especially, your Guardians were your lifeline, your first and last line of defense. Kaori was far too unstable mentally to be a good Sun. Not that others were any better.

Maybe it would work for Ienari to have such volatile Guardians. Ienari himself wasn't exactly the picture perfect stable candidate. Not with his aggression issues.

"Hisen is fine," Colonnello said. "A little too bloodthirsty, but for a civilian, she'll probably be one who can actually hold her own against the Varia. Not sure how she would fare against Squalo himself, but she'll be okay, kora. She can hold her Flames pretty well. You might want to take her back just to work on her stamina and reflexes."

"We'll swap Kaori and Hachirou," Reborn said. "Kaori has absolutely no training so, Skull work on her stamina and ability to dodge. I'll get Hachirou moving. And if I'm taking Hisen back, you can have Hideki. He needs to work on his Flames."

Colonnello nodded. "He does that strange thing with that brush of his right?"

"Yet another variation of Spirit Energy," Reborn muttered.

"What?" Colonnello asked.

"Yes," Reborn answered.

"I'm fine with Kensuke," Fon said.

Reborn nodded. "Then it's settled."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**More Tutors**

"Are you planning on bringing in more tutors?" Fon asked after Skull and Colonnello left.

"Iemitsu is coming back," Reborn said. "Most likely Ienari will be trained by him if he decides to stay. I'm thinking of asking Dino and Bianchi, if they're willing to tolerate Ienari's Guardians. Dino will agree most likely, but Bianchi is firmly on Tsuna's side that she might turn it down. We'll shuffle them again if that's the case. Kaori will be better suited under Bianchi for example."

Fon hummed as they walked back to the Sawada Household. "Should I be concerned that Iemitsu is coming back?"

Reborn scowled. "If Nana's reaction is anything to go by, yes."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Set the Sky on Fire**

"NANA DARLING! I'M HOME!"

"I-Iemitsu?!"

Naturally, Iemitsu's return to Namimori was without any warning, loud and noisy. It was like a tsunami, sweeping in and engulfing everything in its path without any care.

"Tousan?" Ienari asked, dumbfounded.

"Nari-kun!" Iemitsu laughed, picking up his youngest son. "How have you been?"

"Wh-what? You're alive?" Ienari asked baffled.

"Of course! Papa is sorry he's been away for so long," Iemitsu said. He let go of Ienari to swing Nana into a hug.

Nana gave him a startle look, her smile straining just a little. "Welcome back," she said.

"Where's my tuna-fishie?" Iemitsu asked, putting Nana down.

"Hello Tousan," Tsuna said softly from behind Nana.

Iemitsu grinned, reaching out to tousle Tsuna's hair. "Papa is back."

In the corner of the room, observing the small family, Reborn frowned.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Drunk Rambling**

"So how goes training my son?" Iemitsu asked, taking another swing of his beer. His cheeks were rosy red, but Reborn knew Iemitsu was only lightly buzzed.

Reborn frowned again, noting the singular usage. There wasn't even clarification. "Fine," Reborn said. Nowhere near the standard that Reborn had wanted, but without Dying Will Bullets (that Reborn was never firing at Ienari again), Ienari was going as well as expected.

The rest of the house was quiet. Everyone else had gone to bed, leaving the two of them up and alone. Fon had locked himself in shared bedroom of Fuuta and Lambo and Bianchi had done the same for hers and I-pin. Nana was always safe but Reborn had no doubt that Meishi was with her. Ienari was still blissfully unaware and Tsuna was the only who was technically vulnerable if only because Reborn was out here with Iemitsu instead of with his Sky.

It spoke of something that it had taken Bianchi all of two minutes to understand the disparity of the Sawada Family. Bianchi's instincts were top notched. She never had any problem noticing the undercurrents, but she still inexperienced enough that she didn't always understand what the undercurrents were, the cause and reasoning why. That she had pinpointed the cause and why spoke loudly of how serious the situation was.

Iemitsu disrupted the flow in the Sawada Household and was, as far as Reborn could tell, completely blind to the change in atmosphere.

Everyone was walking on eggshells except for Ienari and Iemitsu and Reborn was just a little baffled by it. Nana was uneasy, her smiles weren't nearly as happy. Tsuna got so quiet that Reborn was constantly checking that he was still present. It was so entirely jarring.

"The Varia are coming," Iemitsu said, sobering up. "Will Ienari be ready to face them?"

"You should train him," Reborn said. "I can't get all of his Guardians and Ienari strong enough by myself."

Iemitsu frowned. "I will stay as long as I can, but…"

"But what?" Reborn pressed.

"I have a feeling Nono will need me for something soon," Iemitsu admitted.

That was disquieting. Iemitsu's Hyper Intuition wasn't as strong as Tsuna's, but it was enough. Was the Varia planning something?

"When the Varia does come, we know they will, make sure you protect Nana especially," Iemitsu said, sipping his beer.

"Ah," Reborn said, acknowledging. It left a bitter taste in his mouth that Tsuna remained unmentioned in the entire conversation.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Training Shuffle**

"Wait, Tousan, you're training me?" Ienari asked in disbelief. It had been a quiet relief to find out that Reborn would no longer be overseeing, but he had been surprised that his father had stepped forward.

Iemitsu lit his Sky Flames. "Of course Nari-kun! Now show me what you got."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cooking Buff**

"Honestly, I could care less if you got any better," Bianchi said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She stared down at Kaori who was scowling up at her.

"I don't need your help!" Kaori snapped.

"Then you die," Bianchi said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cutting Water**

Dino wondered if this was really a good idea. He would never turn down a request from Reborn, but Ienari's Rain was a violent bloodthirsty girl. Reminded Dino a bit of Kyoya to be honest. Not that Dino would ever tell Kyoya that.

He dodged the slash from the iron fan, wrapping his whip around Hisen's wrist.

"You're too aggressive," Dino remarked. "You'll run straight into an enemy's attack."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Motivation**

"But what are you fighting for?" Skull pressed. When Kensuke was given to him, Fon had cautioned that while he wasn't the strongest fighter, his belief system wasn't there. But how could someone just robotically fight? Surely there must be a reason why? Any reason was fine, as long as there was a reason to begin with!

Kensuke faltered, still unsure.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Relentless**

"So you're the Koujin heir," Fon mumbled to himself. The youngest of Ienari's Guardians was the strongest and most experience in both fighting and the underworld.

Fuun balanced his kunai on his finger. "What of it, Storm Arcobaleno?"

Fon never had met a Cloud willing to blind themselves, but the power and prestige of Vongola was a tantalizing one. Still, Fon couldn't stop the parallels between Fuun and Kyoya. Even compared to Yun, Fuun was just so… small.

"Let's see how you fare in a storm," Fon said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Draw**

Colonnello took aim and with a quick shot, the brush fell from Hideki's hand. He watched as Hideki manage to dodge the next shot (not that Colonnello was really aiming) and pulled out another brush. The kanji for rock appeared, summoning a rock wall for Hideki to hide behind.

Colonnello had to admit, Hideki's ability was something different. Combined with his Mist Flames, it was easy enough to confuse what was real and what wasn't. Very tricky and underhanded, and would work well for anyone who wasn't an Arcobaleno. Colonnello could still tell the difference.

He grinned as he took aim. By the time he was done with Hideki, Hideki would able to switch between his ability and Flames with ease.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Run**

Reborn cracked his whip, causing Hachirou to run faster. Honestly, Reborn hadn't met such a lazy and unmotivated person before. Skull was right, getting Hachirou to move had been an issue and right now Reborn was forcing him to run laps around Namimori, dragging Reborn along in a tire.

He cracked his whip once more, the minute Hachirou slowed down.

"Goddamnit!" Hachirou swore. "Stop cracking that whip!"

Reborn was still not impressed. If Hachirou wanted it to stop hurting he could have summon his Lightning Flames to deflect Reborn's whip.

Of course, it hadn't occurred to him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Dinner Time**

Since coming back, Iemitsu wanted everyone to sit down and eat together. He didn't seem to notice that Nana immediately tensed at the idea, Ienari scowled and Tsuna practically shrank into himself. He also wouldn't take no for answer.

Dinner was… an odd and strange affair. Ienari quickly and excitably told Iemitsu about his friends, his school and how far his training was going. He even boasted about his many trophies he had won. Tsuna mindlessly picked at his food, remaining silence at the entire time.

Nana's eyes darted back and forth, watching her husband, watching her sons, watching the rest of the kids. Bianchi helped feed I-pin and Lambo and kept a watchful eye on Fuuta. Fon and Reborn inserted themselves between Ienari and Iemitsu and the rest of the family; an additional buffer between the most vulnerable.

Every so often, Iemitsu would remember Tsuna and shot a question to him down the table to him. Tsuna would always manage to smile, politely answer the question, even managing to look interested. The conversation held long enough to satisfy Iemitsu but always died a swift death.

"It's like a delusion, forcing a fantasy onto a reality," Fon remarked quietly, his words so soft that even Reborn had to strain his ears to hear them.

Reborn nodded in agreement. This was barrier of separation and he wondered if Iemitsu and Ienari saw it and knew why it was happening.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Acknowledgement**

Tsuna hated being home. Iemitsu was there and it felt… false, cold, hollow like his world was tilted just a little too much and he hated it.

He didn't exist in comparison to Ienari in Iemitsu's eyes.

Iemitsu… Iemitsu has always been an odd subject for Tsuna. There wasn't any way to really describe the depth of his feeling towards that man. Tsuna hated him, loved him, a conflicting paradoxical ocean of emotion.

Tsuna _understood_. He knew why Iemitsu was gone for so long, why he didn't dare to come home often in fear of leading his enemies here. He knew that Iemitsu had many responsibilities and a famiglia he couldn't abandon. He knew that Iemitsu was frighteningly competent at his job and that the safety Tsuna had in his early childhood before Ayame's arrival was due to the hard work of the CEDEF. (It wasn't that they didn't continue to protect the Sawada Family. It was just that Ayame was exceeding more efficient at it.)

Just because he understood, didn't mean he liked it.

Tsuna remembered the days when all he wanted was his father to come home. They were always different, Ienari and him. Before they had splintered apart, Ienari always shined brighter, had more friends, slipping into society and the high social circles with easy. Tsuna was aching lonely, watching his brother run ahead, his father stay away and his mother grow overwhelmed.

Iemitsu didn't even need to actually come home. All Tsuna ever wanted from both his parents was the simple belief that he could do anything he wanted if he set his mind it, the support that would have carried him to high heights just because they believed in him. He found it in Ayame, in Reborn, in Giotto, eventually in Nana, that patient waiting, endless faith and belief that Tsuna could and would pass all their expectations. He found it in the friends that would walk beside him, waiting for him to catch up, offering a help hand when he need it.

Iemitsu may have loved them, but it didn't erase the fact that Iemitsu wasn't there. Tsuna was so tired and bitter over that fact.

But mostly, all he wanted was Iemitsu to acknowledge his existence.

(He wasn't invisible. He wasn't a failure. He _wasn't_.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Suffocating**

Tsuna took a deep breath as he slipped out of his house. Reborn came along with him, immediately noticing Tsuna's plan. Truthfully, Tsuna didn't mind. Some company, company that actually acknowledge that he existed, would be appreciated.

It was a warm evening, heralding the slow approach to summer. The sun had just set, its bright yellows and oranges just beginning to cool down in the dark blues of the night sky.

For once, it felt like Tsuna could breathe.

"Are you alright Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna managed to give him a shaky smile. "Ah, yes. It felt too crowded at home."

They wandered the streets of Namimori mindlessly and without any direction. Briefly, Tsuna wondered if he should just head over to Ayame's apartment or Kyoya's house. He wasn't sure he could return home tonight.

"Ah senpai! Tsuna!"

"Oh, hello Skull," Tsuna said. Carrying a bag of food was Skull. With him, was Colonnello with his own bag.

"Skull, Colonnello," Reborn greeted.

"Isn't that Ienari?" Colonnello asked.

"No!" Skull said. "That's Tsuna. Ienari's twin brother. He's much nicer."

Colonnello fixed Reborn a leveled look. "You didn't mention a twin, kora."

"Tsuna wants to stay out of the mafia business," Reborn said. "I don't want you to draw attention to him."

"Why are you out tonight?" Skull asked Tsuna.

Tsuna smiled. "Just taking a walk."

"We'll join you," Skull said.

Tsuna nodded in acknowledgement and continued his wandering. He felt Reborn's heavy and concerned gaze, but paid no attention to it.

The stars started coming out one by one, shining and gleaming. Tsuna traced the few constellations he knew, a small smile on his face. He took another deep breath, the tight suffocating feeling that had been building in his chest slowly fading.

Finally, his wandering brought him to Kyoya's house.

"Reborn," Tsuna said, looking down at him. "I don't plan on going home. Kyoya-senpai will welcome you if you want to stay, but if not, I'll you see you tomorrow."

"Go on inside, Tsuna," Reborn said. "I'll be in shortly. Don't forget to call Mamma."

"Hmm," Tsuna hummed with a nod.

With any luck, Kyoya wouldn't be too mad about Tsuna's late appearance.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Rest Your Weary Heart**

"What the hell, kora?" Colonnello asked the minute Tsuna had disappeared into the house.

"Why isn't he going home?" Skull demanded to know.

Reborn looked at the closed door, frowning. Iemitsu's appearance at home was beginning to take a toll on Tsuna. But he hadn't realized how much it was wearing on Tsuna until today. It had only been four short days since Iemitsu had returned and the entire Sawada Household was under strain.

Iemitsu's continued insistence that everyone eat together was not helping. The thinly veiled insults that Ienari threw, the way Iemitsu's attention drifted to Ienari first and foremost, it was like Tsuna continued to shrink into himself.

It had everyone concerned. Iemitsu's appearance also meant that Ayame and her wards didn't come over for breakfast anymore. Reborn wasn't even aware of Vongola's stance on Mukuro anymore. Ayame had already offered to let Tsuna stay at her place, despite her own apartment being filled to the brink.

"Remember, Iemitsu is home," Reborn finally said, leaving them to draw their own conclusions.

"Doesn't like Iemitsu, kora?" Colonnello said. "Why didn't you mention a twin before, Reborn? None of this Tsuna doesn't want anything to do with the mafia world. That never stopped you before. His blood relation alone means he won't escape."

Reborn shrugged. Either Colonnello and Skull will figure it out like Fon or they won't. They hadn't even met Ayame yet.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Skull asked.

That took Reborn by slight surprised. He had known Skull had met Tsuna earlier, but he hadn't realized how fast Skull how gotten attached to him.

"Tsuna likes friends," Reborn said. It probably was the only thing Tsuna actually wanted in life. Good friends to walk beside.

"Friends, kora?" Colonnello said. "Who are you and what did you do with Reborn?"

Reborn didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he said, "Good night."

He didn't wait to see them leave. Right now, all Reborn wanted to make sure Tsuna got some rest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Entering Endgame**

"Good morning, Kyoya-senpai," Tsuna said with a yawn.

Kyoya gave him an exasperated but fond look. Reborn was already up as well, sipping at a cup of green tea. The sun had just broken the horizon, pouring sunlight through the opened shoji door.

"I'll bite him to death," Kyoya said.

"It's better to leave it alone," Tsuna said. He was under no delusion whom Kyoya meant.

"Not if you don't feel safe in your own house," Kyoya said.

Tsuna didn't have anything in defense.

The remainder of breakfast passed in silence. Finally, Kyoya stood. "I'll be leaving for Namimori Middle. Don't be late for class and lock up the house. Someone will pick up your school bag from your house," Kyoya said.

Tsuna nodded. "Thank you."

"Baby, don't let him out of your sight," Kyoya said.

"I don't plan to," Reborn said.

Kyoya nodded and left.

Tsuna cleaned up the last of the breakfast dishes before grabbing the spare uniform he kept at Kyoya's house. There was still some time left before he had to go when there was a knock at the front door.

Reborn beat him to it, tentatively checking who it was.

"You two," Reborn said, opening the door wider to reveal Skull and Colonnello.

"Good morning," Skull said.

"We wanted to check in, kora," Colonnello said.

Tsuna smiled, waving hello. That was nice of them.

His senses tingled, feeling someone spying on them. The subtle shift in the three Arcobaleno told him that they also noticed it as well. However, before anything could be done, there was a scream and a crash. A body was launched out of a window from the house across the street, crashing to the ground. Ayame appeared after it, landing on the person's stomach and knocking them out.

"Neesan?" Tsuna asked, running out of the house.

"Who the hell is that, kora?" Colonnello asked.

Ayame tied up the person. "Ah, Tsuna!" she greeted him. "Don't mind the mess. I'll call someone to clean that up."

Skull blinked. "Did she just throw someone out a window?" he asked confused.

Tsuna stiffened a laugh, catching Reborn's irritated expression. Of course, Reborn would be annoyed by that. Ayame spent her entire time avoiding Reborn when he first arrived, but for Skull and Colonnello she practically did something strange and odd the first time they meet.

That was when Tsuna caught the uniform the man was wearing. "Neesan…" he said trailing off.

"For a Varia member, this is certainly poor Varia Quality," Ayame dryly remarked. She threw a concerned look his way.

"They sent a spy kora?" Colonnello asked.

Tsuna pursed his lips, that tight suffocating feeling returning. He knew Varia were coming, but they were certainly getting ready to mobilize if they're already starting to send out spies and scouts.

"Breathe Tsuna," Reborn gently said.

Ayame rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Tsuna."

"Does that mean the Varia is already on their way?" Tsuna asked.

"Xanxus is almost back to full health, but no. I promised Reborn here that I would go cause some chaos and stop them from coming so soon. But it won't be that much longer," Ayame said.

Tsuna took a deep breath and tried to relax.

It felt too soon.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Sleep Spell**

Nono clenched his fist in worry. They had received another investigation report of the Shadow Court. He had no idea what they wanted in Italy but it was enough that everyone was beginning to take notice. They had been silently active but had gone quiet just a few weeks ago.

There didn't seem to be a real pattern to the attacks and thus no reason why they had suddenly stopped (or started in the first place either.)

Nono rubbed his eyes, feeling drowsy. With Iemitsu gone, his workload had doubled. The remainder of CEDEF were busy keeping an eye on the Varia. Xanxus had remained silent since his group had broken him out.

"I think I'll take a nap later," Nono said to himself. His eyes felt so heavy. He was no longer a young man; the stress of this job was finally beginning to get to him.

Slowly he his eyes shut. Just before he slipped away, he heard someone.

"Voi, that was easy. The old man didn't even resist."

"This job is going to cost you."

"Yeah yeah. Let's get him back to the boss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And everything is starting to line up. Iemitsu is back, Ienari and his Guardians are getting training and Tsuna doesn't feel safe in his own home. Checkmate is coming soon.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out!


	30. Varia and Rings Arc: Part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Reporting Oddities**

Iemitsu frowned at Oregano's report. Nono was acting odd according to her. She couldn't describe how exactly Nono was acting odd, it was just a feeling she got whenever she reported to him. Oregano's instincts though, were top notched. It was why he relied on her so much.

It seemed he would have to return to Italy sooner rather than later.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Hook Line and Sinker**

Sawada Tsunayoshi was interesting. Colonnello crossed his arms as he spotted the older twin walking down the street. It seemed nearly everyone who knew of Tsunayoshi spoke of him highly. Ryohei always had a kind word and a fun story about his little brother. Skull seemed completely attached to Tsuna for no apparent reason. Fon had this soft smile and Reborn…

The most telling was Reborn.

Reborn might not consider it, but Colonnello thought they were friends. It had been a little over a year since Reborn came to Namimori. He was so… different. Sure, on the surface he was the same chaotic, manipulative bastard. But at the same time, there was a visible strain, a weariness and restraint.

It was so strange to visibly see such emotions in Reborn. His poker face was legendary. It still was. But for Colonnello to catch a glimpse of that depth, it spoke of how over his head Reborn must actually be.

Passive. That was a good word. Reborn was being passive. He was waiting instead of trying to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

And somehow Sawada Tsunayoshi was at the heart of that mystery.

"Oh, hello Colonnello," Tsuna greeted him.

"You're a strange one, kora," Colonnello said.

Tsuna smiled a knowing smile, like he knew something that Colonnello didn't. "People do tell me that a lot."

There was a mystery here and Colonnello wanted to find out what it was.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Making Friends**

There was something nice about Tsuna. Skull liked it. He couldn't really describe it. It was a bit like Luce, but not. Even Aria had shades of it. Perhaps it was a Sky thing?

He wasn't smart like Reborn or even a great fighter like Fon. But he did know people and Skull could tell that there was something about Tsuna that told him that he could trust Tsuna. That meant Skull should get to know Tsuna better.

If nothing else, making a friend would be nice.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Demolition**

Mukuro raised an eyebrow at the missing wall in the living room and part of the kitchen. He could see into their neighbor's place, stepping into the mirror image of the same living room and kitchen.

"What is going on?" Mukuro asked.

"I'm not sure," Chrome said, her lips pursed together. "When I woke up, it was like this."

Ayame stepped into the living room (from where, Mukuro didn't know. He honestly stopped trying to keep track of her. It was near impossible), a tool belt hanging from her waist. She twirled a hammer around her hand, safety goggles protecting her eyes.

"Neesan?" Chrome asked. She clenched her purple nightgown, hesitant and unsure.

"Why is the wall missing?" Ken demanded to know.

Ayame blinked at them. "The neighbors moved out," she said slowly as if she was explaining something particularly obvious to them.

"We know. We helped them move the boxes," Lancia said.

"That doesn't explain the wall," Chikusa said, pushing his glasses up his noses.

"I figured I'll expand it so we can all have our own rooms," Ayame said, gesturing to all the open space. "So I knocked down the wall in between the two units."

"Can do you do that?" Chrome asked.

Ayame shrugged. "I own the building. I don't see why not. I'm just no longer going to rent this unit out. We need the space. It has been too cramp. I hope none of you have plans for today."

"Why," Mukuro asked. His eyes narrowed, wondering where she was going with this.

"Because we're going furniture shopping. I also need to know what color to paint your bedroom walls," Ayame said as a matter of fact.

"Just how long do you plan on us staying?" Mukuro asked with a touch of irritation. Why was she going through all this trouble? They were practically her prisoners. What was she gaining out of this?

"You can't move out until you can support yourself," Ayame said. "And I have legal custody over most of you until you're 20. Lancia withstanding of course."

"Can you afford that?" Chrome asked.

"I wouldn't be offering if I couldn't."

Mukuro decided then and there that Ayame was a strange woman.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Mosca**

"Hmm," Spanner said, scratching his head. When he had opened his email, this wasn't what he had been expecting to find.

"What's wrong?" Shoichi said, looking up from his own laptop. It was decided that today would be a quiet day. No active experiments, just emails, paperwork (or homework), and possibly coding.

"Someone bought my Gola Mosca," Spanner said as he reread the email his grandfather had sent him.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Shoichi asked.

"Well yes and no. The Gola Mosca is a very flawed robot. I was originally going to scrap it because of the issues it had. I didn't think anyone would really want a defective piece of robot. It doesn't work well all things considered," Spanner explained. He chewed on his lollipop stick, deep in thought. Why would anyone want it?

"Strange," Shoichi said, coming up behind him to read over his shoulder. "Who bought it?"

Spanner's fingers flew over his keyboard, pulling up forms. "All I got is the buyer's name is Mammon. It sounds familiar, but I can't place where."

"Isn't that… someone from the Varia?" Shoichi said.

Spanner froze before swearing. "We need to tell Ayame."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Helping Hand**

"Need any help?" Dino asked.

Ayame warily looked at him. She was carrying buckets of paint in her hands. Dino waited to see if she would trust him to help her.

"Fine," she relented. "But if you get me dirty I'm throwing you out the nearest window."

Dino grinned, still not fazed by her threats. He took two buckets from her, being careful not to trip and get her dirty (again).

"Why do you need so much paint?" Dino asked, curious. He followed her down the street and towards whatever destination she had in mind.

"I figured it was time to give Mukuro and his gang proper bedrooms," Ayame said plainly.

"That's nice of you," Dino said. "I was surprised that you took them in." That was a bit of understatement. To this day, he still didn't quite understand what exactly had gone down between Tsuna and Mukuro. Not to mention that the Vendice had suddenly stopped pursuing their hunt for him. That had never happened before.

"Hmm, well Tsuna asked-" Well, no surprise there. Tsuna had a bleeding heart. "But mostly I remember what it was like."

Dino blinked. 'Remember what it was like?" There was story in those words that Ayame wasn't explaining.

Ayame gave him a look he couldn't decipher. It was a mix of grief and sorrow, with something deeper still lurking under it. "What it's like to be an outcast. Everyone deserves a safe spot where they can weather the storm we call life."

Dino felt his heart swell. Oh. That was beautiful when she put it like that.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Cake Session**

"The Varia will arriving soon," Hana asked, confirming what Tsuna had told them earlier.

Minus Kyoya who was on his patrols and Chrome and Mukuro who were being dragged around by Ayame, the rest of the group had gathered at Lucky Cat Cafe after school for cake.

Tsuna nodded, glumly cutting through his cake. It seemed not even cake could cheer him up.

"Hahi, are they dangerous?" Haru asked, eyes wide.

"They're Vongola's Assassination Squad. Of course, they're dangerous," Hayato grumbled. "What are we going to do about them?"

"Nothing," Kyoko said. "We shouldn't get involved with them. Their fight is with Ienari."

"Haha, they might be cool to meet though," Takeshi said with a grin.

"Please don't poke the sleeping bear," Tsuna pleaded. He really didn't want to think what could happened if his friends and the Varia collided together. The amount of potential bloodshed involved made his queasy. He could already picture the destruction.

"We should be careful," Ryohei agreed, waving around his fork.

"Everything is happening too fast," Tsuna muttered, focusing on his cake.

Takeshi swung his arm around Tsuna's shoulder. "Don't worry so much Tsuna," he said. "We got your back."

The rest of the group chorused their agreement. Tsuna smiled. A small bundle of joy bloomed in his chest. He had the most amazing friends. "Thanks guys."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Hyper Intuition and Hyper Dying Will Mode**

Ienari growled wrestling control over his Sky Flames. His father had explained to him about Hyper Intuition and Hyper Dying Will Mode; abilities that Ienari had wanted. It was so stupid that he couldn't master it and that whatever reaction he had to Dying Will Bullets (which were supposedly the easiest way to master it) made them too dangerous to use.

But it remained out of his grasp. Iemitsu was disappointed, Ienari could tell and that just pissed him off even more. Hyper Intuition was a trademark of Vongola bosses it seemed and Ienari couldn't even access that. It was like there was a block preventing him and no matter how many times Ienari ran up against it, it refused to move.

Summoning Sky Flames was no longer enough. He wanted more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Watching and Waiting**

Giotto watched and waited, ever so patiently. His Hyper Intuition sang, humming and guiding him to where he needed to go.

"You're fretting."

Giotto cast a glance backwards, spotting Daemon. It was very rare for Daemon to join them; the guilt and years of separation caused him to wander. Of all of them, Daemon was the only one who wasn't so heavily tied to the Mist Ring, allowing him to travel the world as he saw fit. (Something Giotto knew that Alaude had envious of.)

"You're too soft," Daemon mocked, but Giotto could hear the fondness in his voice.

He couldn't help the small smile that twitched on his lips. Despite how they had parted when they had been alive, Giotto had missed his Mist.

"Where are the others?" Daemon asked.

"Exploring and traveling," Giotto said. "They're taking advantage of their newfound freedom." It was… liberating to be free from the Vongola Rings. Giotto hadn't realized how heavy he had been before this. There hadn't been much cause to leave Italy, but now the entire world was available for them to travel. It was tricky in places where spiritual particles weren't high, but they could cope easily enough.

"How are you Daemon?" Giotto asked.

Daemon waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't be like that," Giotto lightly probed. "I worry about you the most." He did. Daemon was away from them for so long and they had parted on terrible terms when tensions were high and feelings were hurt.

"You don't have to," Daemon said, crossing his arms.

"You don't have to stay away you know," Giotto said. "The others do miss you. Well… perhaps not Alaude, but you always did push his buttons."

"Hmph. It's hardly my fault he's so easy to rile up. Besides, wasn't I being helpful?" Daemon said.

"Of course. And I greatly appreciate the information you brought back. But Daemon," Giotto said.

"What?"

"You can come home."

A myriad of emotions flashed across Daemon's face, a brief moment of vulnerability. Daemon looked away, unable to look Giotto in the eye any more. "You're a fool Giotto," he said, words choking in his throat.

Giotto merely smiled. "Ah, but you're still mines."

**Questioning**

"This town is a little weird," Colonnello said, watching to see if Fon would have any reaction to his words.

But as always, Fon didn't react, instead calmly (and with a touch of amusement) looked at him. "Is that so?" he said plainly.

Colonnello scowled, eyes narrowing. "Don't play games with me, kora. I get that enough with Reborn." His temper ignited and growing flare of irritation he felt burned under his skin.

Fon shrugged. "What makes you think there's something odd with this town?" he asked. They were sitting on concrete wall, watching their respective students run laps.

"I don't know!" Colonnello shouted in frustration.

That caused Fon to look at him in alarm. "Oh, oh dear," he mumbled. "Colonnello have you been feeling angrier than usual?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Colonnello snapped.

"Everything. It has to do with everything," Fon snapped back. The calmness fled from him, leaving the atmosphere tense and heavy. His eyes took on a sharp danger look, the steel reflected in them.

Colonnello leaned back. Fon was serious. It was rare to see him like this, over something so overtly small. "I guess, kora," he grumbled. "Things have been frustrating."

"We're going to see Ayame after this," Fon said. "Reborn!"

Reborn materialized, leaving his own student behind gasping for air. "What is it Fon?"

"We forgot about the charms," Fon said.

"What charms, kora?" Colonnello asked, scowling. He was out of the loop (again) and he didn't like it. He crossed arms and glared at the two of them.

"Colonnello's temper is getting worse," Fon explained.

"Hey!"

"And I haven't asked Skull if he's feeling angry," Fon continued on, ignoring Colonnello's interjection.

"Skull doesn't get angry," Colonnello said. He didn't think Skull was actually capable of getting angry. Their Cloud was more likely to cry than anything else.

Reborn nodded. "She might turn us down, but if we get Tsuna to ask, Ayame will make more."

Colonnello threw up his hands. He gave up! They weren't making any sense at all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Decimo Candidate**

Finding Ayame was always easier said than done. As she constantly flittered between homes and places, always ever on the move, one's best bet to finding her was to ask Tsuna. They could check her apartment, but there was no guarantee that she would be there. Dino had an accurate 'Find Ayame' radar, but since she left those confrontations dirty and angry, Tsuna was still the best bet.

(Mostly though, Fon suspected that she did it purposely to messed with them. Specifically, because of Reborn.)

"Tsuna!" Skull jumped into Tsuna's arms. The four of them had released their students for the day and tracked down Tsuna to the nearby market.

Tsuna laughed, setting down the blue Kinga Market basket down to catch Skull. "Hello Skull. What's up?"

"That neesan of yours, Ayame?" Skull said. "Fon said we needed to talk to her."

Fon held up his red charm. "Colonnello is beginning to get angrier."

"Stop making it sound like I have anger issues, kora!"

"And we're hoping she can make one for Colonnello and Skull," Fon finished.

"Sure," Tsuna said, pulling out his phone and firing off a text to Ayame. A response was immediate, chiming a ring. "She said give her an hour and she'll meet you at the park."

"What are the charms for?" Colonnello asked. He gnashed his teeth, glowering.

Tsuna hesitated just for a brief second. To both Colonnello and Skull's surprise, his eyes flashed orange. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but there's something about Namimori that makes intense negative emotions like aggression stronger. The charms are protection against that, because you're… well near the source of it quite often," Tsuna said softly.

"Isn't that Hyper Intuition, kora?" Colonnello asked, surprised.

Tsuna hesitated for another brief moment. "Yes."

"Ienari doesn't have Hyper Intuition," Skull said, looking over at Reborn. "You said he didn't Senpai."

Reborn remain oddly silent.

"In fact, you said he would probably never awaken it. Hyper Intuition is a mark of a Vongola boss," Colonnello said, eyes narrowing. "And if Tsuna here has Hyper Intuition, he has his Flames active as well. Why is Ienari the Decimo Candidate, kora?"

"Because I don't want to be Decimo," Tsuna said firmly. He set Skull back down to the ground before grabbing his basket and heading to the front cashier.

"He doesn't want it," Reborn said finally, drawing Colonnello and Skull's attention back to him. "He doesn't want it so don't push it."

"You would have always pushed it, kora," Colonnello pointed out.

"For anyone else? Yes," Reborn said. "But for Tsuna? No. I respect him too much for that."

Colonnello and Skull stared at him, surprised and feeling the weight of Reborn's words.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Protections**

"Something wrong?" Dino asked. Ayame had stopped and pulled out her phone, frowning at the text in question. He put down his own paintbrush, waiting for her response.

They had been painting for the last hour. Dino had needed the break away from Hisen and had dismissed her early before heading over to help Ayame finish painting the new bedrooms. Chikusa's room was now a soft calming blue color.

"You haven't been feeling large amounts of anger and frustrations have you?" Ayame asked.

No. Yes. Maybe. Not exactly anger per se. Frustration, yes. Between bloodthirsty Hisen and his acknowledgement of his feelings towards Ayame, he was a bit frustrated.

"Not really," Dino said, hedging his words.

Ayame merely raised her eyebrow.

"Hisen is a difficult child," Dino said, opting for the half-truth instead. Reborn always warned him that he was a terrible liar. Dino was a master at telling half-truths, always deflecting.

"You're the one who was tutoring her," Ayame said flatly. She typed a response and placed her phone back into her pocket.

"Are you angry that I'm tutoring her?" Dino tentatively asked. He knew how important Tsuna was to Ayame; knew she didn't care about Ienari and his friends at all; knew how Reborn was treated just because he was Ienari's tutor. It was a difficult spot to be in. Dino would never turn down a request from Reborn. Not to mentioned as he was the Decimo Candidate, it was Ienari that Dino should have been building ties with. But Dino didn't actually like Ienari. He preferred Tsuna's company instead, but duty demanded that he side with Ienari. Frustrating indeed.

"Why would I be?" Ayame asked. She finished cleaning up the paint supplies, resealing the cans and dumping the paintbrushes into a bucket of water.

"Because in a roundabout way I'm helping Ienari?" Dino said.

"That's your choice and beside we need Ienari to win the Ring Battles anyways."

Dino blinked, not quite believing his ears. What…? But why?

Ayame ignored him and pulled out a wooden box from the shelf, opening up the cover. "Come choose a color," she said.

Dino peered into the box, seeing a wide variety of different shades. He was instantly drawn to the gold colored one. "That one."

Ayame blinked her golden eyes at him. "Very well."

"What are these for?" Dino asked, surprised at the soft glow that radiated off the different items in the box as Ayame muttered under her breath.

"Protection charms," Ayame said, once she was done, glow fading. She handed the gold colored charm. "Against many different things, chief is the miasma of aggression that surrounds Namimori."

"What?"

"Ask Reborn."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Charms**

An hour passed by quick enough and Colonnello found himself at the park, meeting Ayame. Dino was with her. He waved, greeting the four of them as Ayame handed the tiny charms to Colonnello and Skull.

"What are these supposed to do?" Colonnello asked.

"Protection against the miasma of aggression that surrounds Namimori," Ayame said. "Other basics included. Don't lose it. I'm not inclined to make another one."

"But…" Dino started.

"I'm definitely not making you another one if you accidentally lose it," Ayame cut him off with a glare.

Colonnello ran his hand over soft fabric of the charm, feeling that bubbling anger that had been boiling under his skin retreat to a dull jab. "Weird," he said. "What's that miasma, kora?"

Ayame merely snort. "Ask Reborn," she said dryly.

Reborn shot her a glare.

"It's Ienari," Tsuna said quietly. Skull and Colonnello looked at the strained smile on Tsuna's face. "Due to his Flames being sealed by Nono as a child, Ienari has accidentally created a miasma of aggression around Namimori. As a result, negative emotions, primarily anger, are reinforced." He looked at Ayame. "But it has been getting better, right?"

Ayame crossed her arms. "As Ienari gains more and more control over his Flames and surprisingly becomes more spiritually balanced, yes it has gotten a bit better. But Namimori will never recovered until Ienari is gone."

"But how is Ienari capable of doing that?" Skull asked, confused.

"Flames of Wrath?" Dino suggested.

"Yin and Yang," Ayame said grumpily. "Out of balanced yang energy."

"I, for one, would love to hear more of that theory," Fon said.

"Please Neesan?" Tsuna asked.

Ayame grumbled. "Fine, fine. I'll give you lot a crash course in Yin and Yang."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Each Other's Backs**

Haru took a deep breath, coaxing those small embers within her into a large and raging fire. She grinned as her Flames flickered to life, spiking out and crystallizing.

"Good job!"

"Hahi! Thank you Tsu-kun," Haru said, beaming. She let the Flames die out. "Need any help with anything?" It was curious that Tsuna had come out to find her. She was deep in the forest to practice her Flames, far from prying eyes and innocent bystanders who may get hurt in the process.

"Just wanted to check in. Kyoko-chan said you were making good progress," Tsuna said.

Haru smiled even harder. That was good to hear. It had been nearly a month and a half since the Triads had come. She flexed her hands. They were tired and sore, singed by the very dangerous Flames she was trying to control. "I'm very motivated," Haru said. "I must get stronger faster after all."

Tsuna blinked. "Why? You can take your time. It isn't a race."

"Because next time, I have to be able to protect I-pin, everyone, especially you Tsu-kun." That was her goal. She never wanted to be that helpless, that useless again. Haru wanted to be able to fight back, to protect.

"What?!"

"Hahi, because we're friends. Everyone came to my rescue. It's only fair that I'm able to do the same. Hana made it sound like it happened often enough, especially around you," Haru said with a nod. At Tsuna's shock and stunned expression, her eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips. "We are friends, right?" Because Tsuna or not, Haru might hit him if he denied it.

"Of course, we are," Tsuna reassured her. "It's only going to get more dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hahi, it will be fine," Haru said confidently. "That's why we have each other."

Her words were rewarded with a soft and fond smile from Tsuna. "You're right," Tsuna said. "I've got something important to tell you."

He sat her down on the grassy forest floor and told her a wonderful and fantastical story about twins as different as day and night. Haru listened with rapt attention. Once the story was done, Haru wandered home and collapsed on her bed. She hadn't expected any of that. Even with her boundless creativity, she had a hard time wrapping her mind around it.

"Hahi… this was bigger than I imagined," Haru said to herself. But that was alright. It just meant she had to try harder. For her friends, she would learn to move mountains.

She closed her eyes, dreaming about grassy hills, the sound of sheep and a teenager with ice blue eyes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Goodbye**

"You're leaving?" Ienari said with a pout.

Iemitsu laughed, his luggage at his feet. "Papa is needed back in Italy." He tousled Ienari's hair.

Ienari simply scowled, fixing his hair. "Don't take so long to come back next time," he said with a huff.

"You'll probably come and see me first," Iemitsu said with a smile. Nono still wanted Ienari to come to Italy for his own protection.

Ienari just scowled harder.

Iemitsu laughed, kissing Nana on the cheek and gave a wave to Tsuna as he exited the house. He got to the front gate when another voice stopped him.

"Leaving so soon?"

Iemitsu turned to look at Reborn. As always, the hitman's face was unreadable. "Yes," Iemitsu said. "Nono is acting not like himself. I must get to the bottom of it before our enemies find out."

Reborn tipped his hat, shadowing his eyes. "I see."

"The Varia are still coming," Iemitsu said with a heavy heart. He wished he could help out Ienari more, but he was sure that Ienari could handle it. "Take care of Ienari."

"Of course."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Vacation Trip**

"What do you say to a trip to the beach this weekend?" Ayame announced.

The entire group of teenagers looked at her. Everyone had come over to her newly renovated apartment to help with the finishing touches. Beds were being set up, boxes being moved and clothes hung.

To her ever displeasure, the five that lived with her, still appeared to be in a state of shock. Apparently, she wasn't being convincing enough to reassure them that she truly meant to give them their own rooms. (Plus, she would like her room back as well.)

"Why?" Tsuna asked, the first to recover.

"We finished the rooms," Ayame said. "Everyone is healthy enough. Summer vacation is going to be starting soon for you lot. We can start it early. A couple missed days won't be an issue."

"All of us?" Lancia asked.

"Of course," Ayame said. Bianchi probably won't be able to come since she was still training Kaori, nor would Nana who wouldn't want to alert Ienari. None of the Arcobaleno would be able to make it either. The younger kids could come if they wanted. But it might be a nice way to start summer vacation.

They certainly had earned it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Liger's Approach**

Xanxus stared at the town they were approaching. So, this was Namimori. Pathetic. The things he had to do. "Let's kill some fucking trash."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Varia have arrived! Colonnello and Skull are getting pulled along, Haru is brought fully into the fold and Dino managed to spend some time with Ayame without making her mad. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	31. Varia and Rings Arc: Part VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.

**Sudden Trip**

"A trip? Now?" Reborn asked, staring at Ayame. Just what was she playing out? Sure, summer vacation was just about to start, but to leave this weekend, to leave tomorrow, meant the kids would be skipping four days. He thought education was important to Ayame. In fact, the side tutoring that Reborn did with Tsuna was one of the few things they agreed upon!

No matter how terrible of a school Namimori Middle was, it was completely out of character for Ayame to pull them four days early.

"It's just to the beach," Ayame said loftily. She was largely ignoring Reborn's presence, focusing on the slice of cake in front of her. "The kids could use a break."

"Why now?" Reborn pressed.

"I have a feeling that I'm going to be busy next week," Ayame said dryly.

Reborn blinked. There was something ominous in Ayame's words.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Chase**

"I heard Dame-Tsuna is leaving early to go on summer vacation!"

"Dame-Tsuna thinks he can just skipped school like that! Starting summer vacation before all of us!"

"Hah! Well it isn't like his grades are going to get any worse!"

Hidden in the bushes, waiting for them to pass by, Tsuna cringed. He morosely stared down at the dirt, willing himself to be smaller. The tight suffocating clawed at his throat, choking him. It felt like the bullies were back at their peak form, swinging insults at Tsuna even more frequently than usual.

As their footsteps faded away, Tsuna poked his head out of the bushes. He glanced at the school building, mentally apologizing to Kyoya and fled the school grounds.

He didn't think he could stay any longer today.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Search Party**

"What do you mean Tsuna didn't come back?" Hana asked flatly. She stared down at Takeshi and Hayato, both were cowling under her gaze.

Takeshi's ever present smile shattered. "We were cleaning up after gym class and Tsuna went out to throw trash. It was right around the corner."

"I failed Tsuna-sama!" Hayato lamented. "I should have taken the trash!"

"Tsuna didn't come back," Takeshi said. "And he isn't answering his phone."

"That… isn't good," Chrome said. She glanced at the clock, revealing the class was about to start and no Tsuna in sight.

"It's not like Tsuna to up and leave without informing us," Kyoko agreed with a frown.

"Someone go tell Kyoya-senpai," Hana said. "We'll comb the school from top to bottom. He may just be hiding on the school grounds. If we can't find him, we'll call the others."

"Neesan is going to freak," Takeshi said with a wince. "With the Varia expected to show up any day now, for Tsuna to go missing now, means Neesan is going to assume the worse."

"So will Reborn," Hayato added. "We're dead."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Two Swordsmen**

"VOI! Watch where you're going!" Squalo snapped as a young Japanese teenage bumped into him, having come out of nowhere from around the corner.

"Sorry," the teen apologized with a smile.

Squalo spotted the katana the teen was carrying. It looked like a normal bamboo shinai, but Squalo could tell it was deceptively hiding its true nature: a sword, a real one, not a cheap manufactured one. You just didn't see that in this day and age.

"What's a kid like you carrying a dangerous weapon?" Squalo asked.

"It's a bamboo shinai," the kid said, smile never wavering.

"Bullshit," Squalo said. "That's a real fucking sword. Kids shouldn't carry around a fucking real weapon unless they're prepared to use it." His excitement rose as he watched the kid slide into readied stance. Forget trying to find the fucking Decimo wannabe. Squalo didn't think he would find a real challenge here in this small little town, but there was something about this kid that demanded that Squalo face him.

He drew his own sword, leaping at the kid. "VOI PREPARED YOURSELF!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Leviathan in the Forest**

"Hah! I will be the first one to find the rat and bring him before Xanxus-sama!" Levi said to himself. He prowled through the forest, searching behind every tree.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Fashionistas**

Lussuria hummed to himself as he browsed through the fabulous selection of clothes. He should be looking for the Decimo Candidate, but he saw the sale and couldn't resist. When was he going to be in Japan again? Surely no one would mind if he took a small break to pick up one little outfit.

"Hahi! Not that one! It'll look terrible on you!"

Lussuria turned around to see a small brown haired girl behind him. She pulled out a beautiful jacket in a wonderful shade of red off the rack and handed it to him. "This would match so better!" she announced.

He had to agree. It was a better shade of red.

Before he could thank her, she had vanished. "What a strange child," Lussuria remarked. "Good taste, but a strange child."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Storm Clouds**

Belphegor was walking down the street when a body collided into him. All he saw was silver hair as he pulled out his knives, ready to cut up whoever dared to run into him.

"Oi! Out of the way bastard! We don't have time for you!"

"Ushishi, a lowly peasant tries to run over a prince?" Bel said. He leapt forward at his target, determined to kill the boy where he stood. His knives didn't hit the target as the boy was pulled back by the collar of his shirt and Bel found himself staring down the business end of a gun barrel.

"I'm sorry," a brown-haired girl said politely. Her smile while friendly looking sharply contrasted with the weapon she had leveled at his face. "We're in a rush." Without any hesitation she fired at him, just narrowly missing Bel and focusing him to jump backwards to put some space between him and her.

Just as he landed, another bullet buried itself in the ground next to his foot and he was forced to retreat further. By the time he knew it, she had put some distance between them and had disappeared into the crowd.

"Ushishishi. This town is interesting," Bel said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A Housewife**

Mammon floated through the rows of shelves in the marketplace, carefully tracking map. The others had vanished and that was fine. All Mammon had to do was to find the Decimo Candidate before the others.

"Ara, how cute!"

Mammon let out an irritated sigh a brown-haired woman cooed over them. Not another one. "Excuse me," Mammon said, trying to escape as quickly as possible.

"Ahh, of course dear. You must be on your first errand," the woman cooed.

Mammon bite back the other wave of annoyance. Another person belittling their appearance. They ignored the wave from the woman, floating off.

Actually, that woman looked familiar, now that Mammon thought about it. They came to a stop as the heavy feeling of being watched ran down their spine. Mammon twirled around, seeing no one else in the aisle.

The sound of wings escaped them as well as the subtle and small alteration of their map.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Duel to the Draw**

Squalo had a bloodthirsty grin on his face. This kid was good! Way better than expected. He swung downward only for the kid to intercept it and block it, shoving the screaming civilians out of harm's way. The kid was still soft and squishy, the naive one that still believed in things like protecting the innocent. But the potential!

For a small town, Squalo hadn't expected to find such potential.

"Not bad kid," Squalo said as they pulled apart. The street was now empty. The last of the civilians had fled, leaving them a wide-open battlefield for them to fight on. Now they could fight without holding back.

The kid merely smiled, but Squalo could read the kid's own eagerness for battle behind it. "Thanks," the kid said.

"What's your name?" Squalo asked, pointing his sword the kid.

To his surprise, the kid's smile dropped, instantly replaced with one of pure terror. His sword flickered back to its bamboo cover and he looked like he was ready to bolt away. Squalo turned, sensing someone behind him… only for a rock to slam into his face.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Squalo shouted, wearing the blood from his new gash on his forehead.

"YOU STUPID MONKEY!"

A black-haired girl came out of nowhere, fuming. She ignored Squalo and grabbed the kid by his ear twisting. "Did you forget what we were doing? Do you want to explain the situation to Neesan?!" She began to drag the kid off.

"VOI! We're in the middle of the battle!" Squalo protested. This chick couldn't just come in and interrupt their fight. It was just getting to the good part! He ducked as another rock came sailing at him. Where the fuck where she getting those rocks?

"I don't have time to deal with you!" the girl shouted at him. "We're busy! Consider the fight a draw and go away!"

What the fuck.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Ice Cream Fun Times**

Xanxus growled, irritable. It was fucking hot, the town, while small, still had a lot of ground to cover. They knew what the fucking trash looked like, but where exactly he was was unknown.

He had been prowling the streets all morning long, but the search had turned up empty. Now the sun was high in the sky, blazing hot and unbearable. He stalked over to a shady bench, hauling himself onto it.

"What?" Xanxus snapped. There was a blue haired kid already sitting on the bench with a cup of melting ice cream, staring at him with wide red eyes.

"Ah, n-nothing," the kid stuttered out. "You look like you could use some ice cream?" he finished lamely, pointing to the small cart parked a few trees away.

Xanxus scowled. "I don't want fucking ice cream. It can't be any good if you're letting it melt," he said, words razor sharp.

The kid deflated, swirling the melted liquid with his spoon. "I thought it would cheer me," he said. "It isn't helping."

"Of course, ice cream wouldn't help," Xanxus said with a snort. Stupid naive kid. Civilians. Life wasn't all roses and rainbows and only idiots believed things like ice cream would actually help. "It isn't some fucking magic that could solve life's problems. Life sucks, deal with it."

"The only other option is violence," the kid remarked calmly.

That peaked Xanxus's interest. _'Oh? Maybe not such an idiot,'_ he thought. "Do you need someone killed?" he asked mildly. He would do it for free too. It would be a great way to let off some steam. There was also the additional bonus to sending an advance warning to that scumbag who dared to challenge him.

The kid let out a bitter laugh. Hmm, so not all sunshine. "Thank you, but no thank you," the kid said. "There's a long list of people who called dibs over you."

Interesting. Abusive parent maybe? That usually got normal people riled up and willing to take up arms when they normally wouldn't have.

Another kid dropped out of nowhere. Xanxus narrowed his eyes, assessing the newcomer. Black hair and sharp gray eyes, Xanxus could tell this one was a fighter. The kid held his gaze, never wavering or backing down.

"Baby omnivore," the black-haired kid said, still pinning with Xanxus with a look.

"Senpai," the blue haired kid answered.

"You have everyone worked up. Fix it before they disrupt the entire town."

The blue haired kid dumped his ice cream in the trashcan and sighed. "Yeah, I figured." The kid threw Xanxus a smile. "Thanks."

Xanxus waved him off. Stupid kid. He had better things to do. He watched as they left. They had just reached the edge of the park when for a split second, the blue haired kid was replaced with a brown haired one… that looked exactly the Decimo Candidate that Xanxus had been hunting for. His eyes widened as he leapt off the bench after the two brats.

It had been a fucking trick! He reached the edge of the park, looking up and down the street to find them gone. Xanxus growled. The fucking trash. "I'm going to destroy you, Sawada Ienari."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Scolding**

" _Xanxus_ , really? Tsuna!"

"Sorry Neesan. I didn't realize it was him until he sat down."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**An Interesting Town**

"What the hell happened to you, trash?" Xanxus snapped as Squalo, the last member to show up with a bandage around his forehead.

"Met an interesting brat," Squalo said.

"Me too," Bel said.

"This is town is full of interesting people," Lussuria said with a hum; tapping his index finger against his chin.

"I apologize for not finding the Decimo Candidate!" Levi said with a bow.

"This is the first time my map has led me wrong," Mammon said.

Xanxus scowled. "The scumbag found me and had the nerve to try and trick me," he growled, blood boiling. Mist Flames? Probably. Maybe that meant the black-haired kid was one of his Guardians. "Let's find the fucking hitman and get this Ring Battle settled."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Beach Vacation**

Hayato blinked. Huh. "I thought we were going to the beach?" he asked.

"We are," Tsuna said.

"Then why are we at the airport?" Mukuro asked, glancing warily at the passport he had just been handed.

"Oh!" Tsuna said. "Did Neesan forget to mention she meant a trip to Hawaii?"

"I worked very hard this year," Ayame called over her shoulder. "If I want to take my favorite kids on a trip this year to a beach on a tropical island, that is my prerogative."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Ring Battle Setup**

Reborn was mentally cursing Ayame in every language he knew. She had to have known. When the hell was she going to tell him that the Varia had shown up? Right after she left with Tsuna and his friends for their beach trip (to where, no one would tell him.)

"We will now explain the rules of the Ring Battle," the pink haired Cervello woman announced.

Reborn listened with half attention, choosing to examine the Varia instead. They were fired up for some reason and if glares could kill, the glare that Xanxus was throwing Ienari could have killed him ten times over. Ienari and his group were sporting equally bloodthirsty grins.

Reborn silently despaired. He tugged the rim of his hat down. This was going to go so horribly.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Sun Ring Battle**

Lussuria couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. Everyone else had talked about how they met some interesting kids, kids who could actually provide a challenge but it seemed those kids didn't come. Squalo and Bel were both exceptionally pissed that the kids they had run into hadn't appeared.

"Such a pretty face," Lussuria said.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Kaori snapped.

"It's a shame," Lussuria carried on, ignoring the young girl's angry words, "that I have destroy it."

The battle that followed after wasn't even worth putting into words."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Lightning Ring Battle**

"Hmph," Levi said, swinging his parabola behind to holster it. He stared down at the crumbled charred form of Hachirou. "Even you can't stand up to might of my Levi Volta attack."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**What Could Have Been (Storm Ring Battle)**

"What mockery is this?" Bel snarled as he slashed at Kensuke. Kensuke grimace as another knife tore through his skin. He managed to blow another set of knives; Storm Flames burning through the invisible wires that Bel set up. It was hardly enough as Bel flung another set of knives, easily bypassing Kensuke's weak defense.

"Don't give up Kensuke!" Ienari shouted.

"Kensuke! You can do better than that!" Hisen roared from the sidelines.

"This is so painful to watch, kora," Colonnello muttered softly.

"We knew those three were the weakest," Fon replied evenly. His lips were pursed into a thin line, looking troubled.

"Does anyone else get that feeling that this is completely wrong?" Skull asked no one in particular.

Reborn didn't say anything, eyes transfixed on the battle. Skull was right. Ienari and his Guardians just paled in comparison to Tsuna and his friends. This battle was one sided so far, for a good reason and Ienari's chosen Guardians simply didn't shine the way Tsuna and his friends did. It was no wonder why the Varia were so furious.

The Varia probably still would have won the Lightning Ring Battle; Tsuna would have never let Lambo fight and Haru had only recently woken her Flames. But Ryohei would have been an even match for Lussuria. Gokudera or Hana may have had some trouble with Bel, but Reborn could easily see how either of them could have overcame Bel. Yamamoto was a swordsman on par with Squalo and there was no contest, no matter who the Varia sent out for Cloud Ring battle. Kyoko or Hibari would have destroyed them. If Mukuro could be persuaded, the Mist Ring Battle could go either way.

Then there was just no comparison between Xanxus and Tsuna. Not when Tsuna's Sky Flames burn purer and brighter than Reborn had ever met, even Luce. Not when Tsuna's golden swords, flew independently and fast, working in tandem; as if you were up against multiple opponents at once. Not when Tsuna's strange affinity with light that Reborn still didn't quite understand lurked as a hidden trump card.

But, no matter how much Reborn wished it to be, no matter how much better of a choice that Tsuna would have been, the truth was it Tsuna had no desire to seek Vongola. It was better that Tsuna fly free, untainted from the darkness of the underworld. He had no desire to shackle his Sky.

"Winner of the battle: Belphegor of the Varia!"

But sometimes, Reborn still wondered what could have been.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Rain Ring Battle**

To say Squalo was fucking pissed was an understatement. You mean to tell him that there was fucking swordsman in the town and the stupid Decimo wannabe brat didn't bother to bring him along? Instead, he got this pretty Japanese girl who looked so delicate that she would break under the tiniest bit of pressure.

What the hell. Were they mocking the Varia? Not taking them serious? Squalo had been mildly impressed that every spy they sent into Namimori didn't return. He had thought that maybe the Decimo candidate was actually fucking smart. But this? This was just pissing him off.

"Don't underestimate me!" Hisen said, slamming her iron fan against Squalo's sword with some serious weight.

Squalo grunted as he was forced to step back to retain his balance. So maybe this little doll had some skills to back it up. He parried another one of her attacks before slicing through her shoulder.

Hisen hissed at him, tearing off her sleeve and using the movement to distract him as she flung her fan at him, sliding through the air like shuriken.

"Getting desperate?" Squalo asked with a smirk. He swung his sword downward only for her to pull out another fan to block him.

"Not at all," Hisen said; her smile razor sharp.

Squalo felt something sharp pierce his side. He glanced down to see the fan the girl had thrown had come flying back at him like a shuriken.

"I thought I should just return the favor," Hisen said. She pulled out a third fan and leap at him.

"Interesting," Squalo said. So, she did have some fangs after all.

"Cut him down Hisen!" Ienari called out.

The two of them clashed, sparks flying as metal hit metal. Blood flew, matching wound for wound. Squalo felt something tingle at the edge of his senses. It felt like Rain Flames. Huh, so not all of these wannabes were completely helpless. At least this one knew about Flames.

He slid back into a readied stance and began to draw up his own Flames in preparation. This battle would be decided in the next attack.

"VOI LET'S END THIS!" he shouted. "ATTACCO DI SQUALO!"

"Prepared to be swept away," Hisen cried out. 'DAIBAKUFU!"

The last thing Squalo knew was a giant tidal wave of water that crashed down on him and swept him away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Mist Ring Battle**

"A brush?" Mammon questioned as their opponent did nothing but pull out a small pen brush from his pocket.

Hideki pushed up his red rimmed glasses. "They often say that the pen is mightier than a sword." He twirled the pen over his fingers. Then with a flick of his wrist, he drew a kanji 起 in the air, glowing a soft purple.

Mammon wasn't given any time to think of it as forty swords materialized out of the ground, stabbing upward at him. It was followed by a rock dropping from the ceiling that just narrowly missed Mammon before a barrage of arrows pierced their body. Walls snapped up around them, enclosing them in a box as a gas began to fill it.

Mammon's vision blurred, recognizing the variation of knockout gas that was rapidly filling the box. He gasped, trying to summon up the energy to escape.

Impossible. How could have he set up all of these traps up all at once?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Family Worth (Cloud Ring Battle)**

Reborn scowled as he recognized Nono's stilled form being pulled out of the Gola Mosca. Fuun was brutal in his attack and despite being made of metal, it didn't stand much of a chance against Fuun. He hadn't expected Xanxus to use his own father as a pawn in this game.

He hadn't realized how much their relationship had deteriorated.

"Isn't he your dad?" Ienari asked.

Xanxus scowled. "I have no desire to call him father. He isn't family to me."

Ienari's eyes narrowed. "I know that feeling."

Reborn felt a headache growing as he helped Dino's men escort Nono to their car and to the hospital. Of course, that would be the one thing that they would agree upon.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**At the Beach**

"Tsunayoshi."

"Yes Mukuro?"

Mukuro studied the smaller boy next to him. When he had arrived at Namimori, Sawada Tsunayoshi and Ienari were nothing like what he expected. Ienari was ignorant as everyone else, but Tsunayoshi knew something, possibly everything. Namimori was a strange, strange, strange town with secrets.

Tsuna ignored Mukuro's gaze, choosing to look out at the horizon instead. The sound of the ocean waves washing up on the sand was soothing. The rest of the group was spread out, playing in the sand and water. A heated volleyball game between Hana, Haru and Kyoko against Hayato, Ryohei and Takeshi was underway. Chrome, Ken, Chikusa and the kids were in what was appeared to be a spirited sand castle competition. Ayame had floating in the water, reading a book of all things as Lancia swam laps. Kyoya was probably lurking somewhere.

Tsuna had been sitting under the umbrella watching them all when Mukuro had joined him.

"Why are we here?" Mukuro asked, choosing for once the direct approach.

Tsuna hummed. "The Ring Battle between the Varia and Ienari is currently taking place in Namimori. Neesan didn't want us to accidentally get dragged into it."

"You really don't want anything to do with Vongola," Mukuro mused. What kind of person didn't crave power? "I've seen how powerful you are and I've spied on your twin's training. He doesn't hold a candle to you. What do you gain out of this?"

Tsuna looked up at him. He patted the spot next to him on the blue blanket. "Take a seat Mukuro. Let me tell you a story."

Mukuro thought about it, feeling as if he was at a crossroad. He had the distinct feeling that whatever he chose to do next, it would determine everything. Mukuro glanced over to where Ken was shouting some nonsense over the sand castles, Chikusa giving him a flat look and Chrome trying to hide her giggles behind her hand.

"Kufufu," Mukuro said, taking a seat. What else did he have to lose at this point?

Later, when they're back at their hotel room, Mukuro took the chance to observe the ring that Tsuna had offered him. A tragedy hidden in plain sight, the story between twins. How he had misjudged. Another layer of the mystery of Namimori had been revealed.

Now the ball was in his court.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Sky Ring Battle**

Ienari ducked as another Sky Bullet came flying towards him. He swung into the air, using his Flames to boost his momentum, swinging his boa staff. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, feeling the pressure of Xanxus's flames. It was like being stalked by a monster… but Ienari had faced a bigger and stronger one before.

"You fucking trash!" Xanxus roared at him.

Ienari spun his staff, blocking the barrage of bullets fired his way. He couldn't lose here. He refused to. All the power he could even dream of was within his grasp.

He darted forward, swinging his staff toward. Xanxus stepped backwards before jumping forward to land on the tip of Ienari's staff. Ienari raised his arm to block the roundhouse kick, losing his grip on his weapon in the meantime. Xanxus sent him flying, knocking into a wall.

Ienari staggered to his feet, dark spots dancing across his vision. The growing sight of orange flew at him and he threw up his own Sky Flames in a haste protection. It rammed into him, sending him into the sky. Ienari cursed, as he realized how far off the ground he was. Xanxus was flying towards him, propelled by his Sky Flames.

"You're dead trash!" Xanxus shouted.

Ienari grimace, completely defenseless in the air. He braced himself when he saw it. A slight hesitation on Xanxus' part, as if he hadn't calculated enough power to propel him up to Ienari. Ienari grappled Xanxus' arm, hooking his knee around Xanxus' neck.

Gravity did the rest of the work.

"Winner of the Sky Ring Battle: Sawada Ienari!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A Midnight Conversation**

Reborn walked back into the quiet Sawada Household. Nana was already asleep, Bianchi too from what it seemed like, having stayed with Nana instead of witnessing the Ring Battles. Ienari had gone to the hospital from his battle wounds with Xanxus and the rest of the kids were with Ayame. Reborn had left Fon to take care of the details with Colonnello and Skull, wanting nothing more to leave this senseless and odd job behind and go home.

Ienari had won. A minute hesitation on Xanxus' part, so uncharacteristic of him, but it had been enough. It left a bitter and sour taste in Reborn's mouth, but this wouldn't be the first job he had that gone horribly wrong in his opinion.

Noise drew his attention and Leon instantly transformed into a gun, falling with ease into Reborn's hand. He silently stalked towards the kitchen.

The light flicked on, revealing Ayame, leaning back on the chair, precariously balancing on the two legs. She swished her glass, the clear liquid dancing; a bottle of sake on the table.

"Ayame," Reborn said, eyes narrowed. He let Leon transform back, but didn't drop his guard. Why was she here? Were the kids back?

"Welcome back Reborn," Ayame said, not looking at him. She set her cup down, chair thumping back down, as she poured another shot. "Come have a drink," she said.

"Where are the kids?" Reborn asked, not moving.

"Still at the hotel. They'll be back tomorrow," Ayame said. "Ienari won, didn't he? I owe you a story." She snorted as she looked down at him. "Don't be so suspicious. If I really wanted to get rid of you, I wouldn't have let you pass the wards into Namimori in the first place. Tsuna wouldn't have stopped me because he would have never known who you were."

Reborn scowled. He took a seat on his booster chair, grabbing the offered cup and drowned it in a single gulp. "What happened between the twins when they were eight?"

Ayame refilled his cup. "Don't be so hasty. It's far more complicated than you could have believed. And it has nothing to do with what happened between the twins when they were eight. That was simply the tipping point."

She looked away from, gazing up at the full moon that hung in the night sky. With a sigh, she turned and pinned Reborn with a sharp gaze; her golden eyes gleaming.

"Tell me, Reborn, what makes you feel _safe_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Bilingual Bonus**
> 
> Daibakufu - Great Waterfall
> 
> 起 - to raise, to wake up, to trigger
> 
> Man, I'm so worried about this chapter ahaha. So many of you were looking forward to this one and well I'm pretty sure based off the reviews, you weren't really expecting this. I stand by my original tags, this is indeed a Not-Decimo!Tsuna fic.
> 
> But! -rubs hands together- we had ice cream fun times with the Varia, Ienari is now secured in his position and -throws confetti- we are now moving into Endgame Arc AKA Big Reveal Arc. I'm so excited to finally be here. The last line Ayame asked Reborn, THIS THE SCENE THAT SPARKED THIS ENTIRE FIC. It's only taken 180k-plus words to get here.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. I really would love to hear what you thought about this chapter, the Ring Battles, the Varia crashing face first into Namimori's madness.
> 
> See you next month.


	32. Moment of Truth Arc: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian  
> Mochida Kensuke* - Hisen's cousin, captain of kendo club. Storm Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.  
> Sawada Hidetada - Giotto's son. Twin to Yoshimune  
> Sawada Yoshimune* - Giotto's son. Twin to Hidetada
> 
> * - canon character

**Start of a Beginning (A Humble Dream)**

Somewhere along the way, Vongola forgot its roots; that it started off as a humble dream of a young boy who wanted everyone he loved to be free from fear, who wanted to throw off the chains of poverty, who wanted to protect those he loved with from the dark things that lurked in the darkness.

He wanted his family and friends safe and free.

But freedom meant many different things to many different people.

So what started off a beautiful dream twisted and grew into a mockery of itself. Instead of helping the less fortunate, money was gathered for the sake of gathering money, greed in its finest. Instead of being a symbol of freedom, they became a symbol of fear. Instead of protecting others from the things lurking in the darkness, they became one with the darkness.

It started off as such a humble dream.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Lost in History (Yoshimune and Hidetada)**

Sometimes, people forgot that Giotto had twin sons as well: Yoshimune and Hidetada. Yoshimune took after Giotto, in both appearance and mannerism, a soft-hearted and gentle boy. Hidetada was a bit more prideful, more headstrong, taking after his mother who burned so bright, so fast, before bowing to death.

With the death of his wife, and his obvious appearance as a foreigner, living in Japan had not been the easiest. They were scattered like petals on the wind after Daemon's betrayal, the wound festering and left unhealed. Forgiveness would be a long time coming for the others, but Giotto was mostly resigned, despairing that somehow he had failed his Mist.

So his sons grew up with their broken father, with a broken family, with a stolen heritage and a bloodstained history to inherit. Yoshimune shied away from the strangers who threw stones at him for being different. Hidetada, on the other hand, burned with anger, at the way his father and brother were being treated.

Sometimes Hidetada asked his father about Italy, about the beautiful country that his father spoke fondly of. Giotto would tell him stories, cautioning Hidetada of his mistakes, of the bloody history Giotto had left behind. Sometimes Hidetada wondered why they didn't just go back there. Surely it must be better, for their family. There was very little tying them down in Japan with their mother and her family dead. They could go back and take back was rightfully theirs.

His father had a family, a family that Hidetada proudly defended with honor. In the time of where people still valued family name and honor, people mocked him for being a half-blood from a no-name foreign family and Hidetada would spit back at them.

It all came to a boiling point when the twins reached their majority.

"Family," Yoshimune told his brother, pleading with him to stay.

"Honor," Hidetada said in reply, determined to travel to Italy.

Giotto despaired at the way his two sons fought, trying to bring peace to the two of them. In the end, Giotto still believed in freedom and he let Hidetada go.

But honor meant different things to different people.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**For Honor (Rightful Heir)**

Sawada Hidetada arrived in Italy and found Vongola when he was 25. It was nothing as he expected, but he was determined to claim his position as the rightful heir and clean up the dark legacy.

Daemon merely smiled. Ricardo looked at him warily but didn't turn him away.

When Ricardo suddenly died and his only son far too young to inherit Vongola, Daemon dropped the Vongola Sky Ring into Hidetada's hand. When his father's transparent image popped out of the ring, Giotto's expression twisted in horror that it was Hidetada who had inherited Vongola next, Hidetada felt the first bit of regret.

Then five years later, Daemon dead and his father's image in the ring who couldn't even look him in the eye, Hidetada wondered where it had gone all wrong. For honor, for his father's honor, for his honor, he had wanted to redeem Vongola, but under Hidetada's influence, it was Vongola's honor that had grown, stained an even darker crimson red.

Under Giotto, Vongola Primo, Vongola was established. Under Ricardo, Vongola Secondo, Vongola expanded, growing all throughout Italy. Under Hidetada, Vongola Terzo, Vongola became a household name that everyone feared.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Safety**

"Tell me, Reborn, what makes you feel _safe_?"

Reborn scoffed at those words. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Ayame watched him, sipping at her sake. "Then answer this. Why Tsuna? Out of all the Skies you know, you pick Tsuna as your Sky. Why not Dino?"

Did he need a reason? No. Harmonizing with a Sky was a rare and welcomed event. Reborn liked Dino, respected Nono, hated Iemitsu and none of them clicked, not in the same way Reborn had with Luce, with Tsuna. (But he could admit that Tsuna was an even better fit than Luce.)

"You wouldn't understand," Reborn said. How could she when she didn't have Flames? When she didn't feel that call of harmony, the call of a Sky.

"What wouldn't I understand? Ayame asked, eyes flashing angrily. "The singing of harmony, the click of a perfect fit, the warmth, the leader I would follow to the ends of the earth?"

Ah. Maybe she would understand then. "You don't have Flames," Reborn said.

"I do not," Ayame agreed. "Doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to harmonize with Tsuna." She poured herself more sake.

"Skies are safety nets," she said. "They're the reason why you can do dangerous and crazy things, knowing that they will catch you if you fall. They're leaders, that pillar that reaches to the sky, the ones we will follow to hell and back. But safety means different things to many different people."

Reborn frowned, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

"Giotto's safety is freedom, from the society's rules and laws, from preconceived notions, from shackles of fate and destiny. Vongola suffocated Giotto, the Vongola Rings chained him down, it was no surprise to find out that he lost control over Vongola," Ayame said.

"Dino's safety is bonds and friendship. Give him a friend and Dino will move mountains for them and them for him. It can be outside of his famiglia, you are an example of that. Those bonds are his strength and inspire loyalty in others.

"Ienari's safety is power. The more power he has, the safer he feels. Those that follow him, feel similarly. When they have power, they are invincible, unstoppable. The more power, the better," Ayame said, her words growing more and more bitter. She stared down at her cup; her expression twisted in grief.

"I've never met them, but if I had to guess Iemitsu's safety is distance. The farther away he is of something, the safer it is. Sometimes it works even in reverse, which makes him such a contradictory man. Nono's safety is probably famiglia, specifically his," Ayame finished, drowning the rest of her sake and pouring herself another shot.

Reborn stared at her, eyes wide. The puzzle pieces were beginning to click together. His mouth went dry in realization.

"And you Reborn, you don't need freedom, you're as free as you want already. You don't need it to feel safe. Similarly, you don't need bonds. You've been alone for so long that you've always relied on yourself for safety, never trusting someone to have your back. What use is power to World's Strongest Hitman, the pinnacle of your current job? Distance doesn't impact you, always traveling and free floating wherever the wind takes you. You were never a part of Vongola, so Nono has never managed to call out to you," Ayame said.

"So Reborn, what makes you feel safe? What do you do to feel safe?" Ayame asked him, staring at him. Her golden eyes glowed in the night. "Why did you come back here?"

Reborn stared back at her, dumbfounded. He had come here because… because… it was _home_ , he realized with a start. That was a word he hadn't thought about in a long time. Reborn didn't have a home. He had houses, places where he slept. But a home? The last time Reborn remembered having a home, his mother was still alive, waiting for him with a warm meal and a friendly smile.

When had the Sawada Household become home?

Pleased by his reaction, Ayame's lips curled into a fond smile. "Tsuna's safety is home. It's different than the others because while things like freedom and power mean different things to different people, home is an idea that encompasses many different meanings in one. Home is… home is a place for the weary to rest, where the strong can be weak, where the pretenders don't have to pretend, where the weak are protected and sheltered, where the broken can heal. A warm and safe place, filled with unconscious love, a shoulder to cry one, where you're accepted for who you are without any judgment.

"What makes Tsuna the more powerful Sky, is because everyone needs a home. The other Skies, the people they harmonize with are the ones who share similar mindsets. But a home accepts everyone, which is why even Mukuro who hated us all when he first arrived was equally welcomed as the outcast that Hayato was. Tsuna calls the misfits, the loners, the outcasts," Ayame said, expression fond.

Reborn drew in a sharp breath, another realization snapping into place. "The reason why Tsuna's harmonization didn't override Ienari's in Namimori. Normal civilians have homes, a place they're comfortable, Tsuna provides them with no extra comfort. But normal civilians do crave power, a notion that society is geared towards to always be strong."

"Yes," Ayame said. She rested her chin on her hand, swishing her cup once more, watching the liquid spin and spin. Reborn didn't say anything, still staring at her in shock as the silence rested between them.

Reborn's head swam as he soaked up that knowledge. It was a surprisingly easy explanation now that he looked at it. Luce's safety was probably… motherhood or parental support. He had drawn enough parallels between Luce and his own mother that it wasn't such a farfetched notion, that he had been craving that kind of support. But eventually one had to leave the nest, which explained why Tsuna's Sky was far more fitting.

Was it really such an easy idea?

"Did you know," Ayame mentioned offhandedly, "that you can interrupt a Sky's Harmonization in a permanent fashion when you seal someone's Flames?"

Shit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Drag Me Down**

Ienari grinned as he climbed higher and higher. Today was the day he was going to conquer this tree. If he could climb all the way to the top, he could show his father that he was strong and able just like him.

"Ienari!" Tsuna called up at him. "Be careful!"

Ienari stuck his tongue out at his twin and ignored him. What did that crybaby know? He kept hiding Kaasan and didn't want to get to know Nonno who according to Tousan came all the way from Italy to visit them.

Reaching up for the next branch, Ienari's foot slipped and he tumbled, falling and falling. He panicked, fear gripping his heart for those few precious seconds of falling. Flailing, he reached out, summoning an orange warmth that seemed to cushion his fall.

"Ienari!" Tsuna shrieked, rushing over to him. He reached out to Ienari, hand extended to help Ienari up.

Ienari froze, feeling something deep wash over him. Heavy and thick, it dragged him down like he was drowning. He struggled against it, gasping for breath.

"Ienari?" Tsuna asked, frighten as he stepped forward.

Ienari gasped as the feeling increased as Tsuna approached him. "Go away!" he cried, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. His breath grew ragged as he struggled to breath. He slapped away Tsuna's offered hand.

"Ienari?!"

Ienari felt himself being picked up, recognizing his father's strong arms. He hunched into himself as his mother took away Tsuna, the drowning feeling beginning to recede.

"Hmm," Nonno said. "So young." He reached out and Ienari saw a flash of orange before Nonno touched his forehead and his world grew dark.

When Ienari came to, Nonno was gone and Tousan had left for another work trip. Kaasan hovered, worried about him and whenever Tsuna tried to approach him, all Ienari could remember was that suffocating drowning feeling and could no longer stand to be in the same room as his twin.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Harmony**

"Are you telling me all of this could have been avoided if Nono had never sealed Ienari's Flames in the first place?" Reborn hissed, angry. He cursed Nono to hell and back, losing all respect he had for that man.

"Hard to say," Ayame said. "We'll never know how the world would have turned out if Ienari and Tsuna had finished properly harmonizing when they were five. Maybe most of this could have been avoided, or it could have simply manifest in a different way." She let out a soft sigh.

"But there was no denying that Ienari was afraid of Tsuna, that Tsuna was this terrifying monster in his eyes and since he considers power to be his safety net..." Ayame said, trailing off.

"The only way to be safe is to be stronger than the monster," Reborn finished, seeing his student in a completely different light. He thought back to when he had given Ienari those personality tests. Ienari had said Tsuna was nothing but trouble, had he meant monster instead? It would have changed the context of what he meant completely.

Ienari was afraid of Tsuna.

The idea was almost downright laughable if it wasn't so sobering. Ienari was trying to confront his fear over and over again by attacking Tsuna, the only way he could understand because they weren't properly harmonizing, because they were torn asunder in a way they couldn't even grasp. Tsuna learned to be afraid of Ienari, of his twin's hurtful words and hits, never understanding why until Ayame had wandered into his life, a vicious cycle of fear.

And Nono, for all his good intentions, was the very cause of this.

"This hardly excuses Ienari's behavior," Ayame said.

"But it does explain it," Reborn said. No, Ienari could have reacted in many different ways, but he didn't necessarily have to go as far as abusing Tsuna for it. But there was no denying that their relationship was doomed from the start.

"Then what happened when they were eight?" Reborn asked.

"There are two incidents when they were eight," Ayame said. "I will be surprised if you don't know the first one. It occurred shortly before I met Tsuna. He and Ienari were kidnapped by enemies of Vongola."

Reborn frowned. He had read that report. "I thought the CEDEF had gotten to the group before they actually harmed them." It was one of the closest attempts on Tsuna and Ienari. Iemitsu had mentioned bringing his family to Italy if they had gotten so close to them. But shortly after that, all the attempts on the Sawada Family dropped (which if Ayame had come to town then, would make sense).

"No, from what Tsuna had told me there was a point where they had been taken," Ayame said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Kidnapped**

Ienari trembled. He didn't want to be here. A group of men had grabbed them this morning and tied them up. Ienari refused to look to his left where Tsuna was tied up just like him.

"We should be able to fetch a pretty penny for these two," one of their kidnappers said, leering at Ienari. "I bet they'll pay plenty for them."

Fear gripped Ienari's heart, squeezing tight like a wrung-out lemon. He didn't understand why they wanted them. His eyes closed as the man reached out to stroke his cheek, the putrid stench of smoke and alcohol on his breath.

"Don't touch him," Tsuna cried out.

Eyes still glued shut, Ienari didn't see what happened next, only that the temperature of the room skyrocketed. Alarmed, his brown eyes flew open and all he could describe was a scene from hell. Orange flames danced, burning everywhere. The men were gone, turned to ashes, leaving nothing but Tsuna standing in the middle of it. Orange flames danced across Tsuna's arms, his eyes glowing orange.

Demon.

Monster.

Tsuna reached forward, the ropes binding Ienari burning away and Ienari hiccupped at the heat. His heart pounded faster and minute the ropes were gone, Ienari shoved Tsuna as far back as he could. "Monster!" he screamed.

He took off, never looking back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Awakening**

"That was when Tsuna woke his Flames," Reborn said.

"And Hyper Intuition. He remembers the incident with startling clarity, but the onrush of Hyper Intuition left him… detached. It took years of piecing the incident together to pinpoint that this was the logical escalation point of Ienari's abuse," Ayame said, eyes distant.

"Hyper Dying Will Mode makes the person feel as if their body was breaking, yet that they were prepared to take on anything as well as to be unafraid of their body being destroyed," Reborn remarked morbidly. "I can only imagine that at eight, Tsuna was left very confused and unprepared for it."

"Is that what they describe Hyper Dying Will Mode to be? I had no previous knowledge of Dying Will Flames before coming to Namimori," Ayame admitted. "Spirit Energy manifest in so many different ways that I will spend the rest of my life mapping and researching them all and will only scratch the surface. Until Tsuna met Giotto, I had no information to draw upon, halfway to determining that Tsuna had awakened yet another variation and that we would have to build from the ground up all the weakness and strengths of his ability."

Reborn blinked at that confession. Dying Will Flames were a bit of an open secret, just widespread enough through all of Europe that he was finding it a bit strange that Ayame had never heard of them before.

Picking up on his disbelief, Ayame merely shrugged. "I'm not all knowing. There are over a hundred million different variations of Spirit Energy currently and many are passed down from family to family, but even that varies. My own ability has never been recorded in my entire family line, whereas Fuuta's family ability has only varied in terms of strength. To the extreme, there are entire communities that are created and isolated in a way people only stumble across them by mistake. I have little care for the European countries so…" She trailed off, lost briefly in thought.

"The second incident then?" Reborn probed.

Ayame's expression twisted, growing dark. "Tsuna wishes to explain it to you. In fact, you'll probably hear it from him as soon as he comes back. Don't push too hard; it's something he has been working the courage to do so," she pinned him with a swift glare.

Reborn merely clenched his teeth as once again the reason was jerked away from him. (A small part was warm that Tsuna was willing to tell him in person, but it was driving him up the wall.)

Ayame let out a soft huff, reaching for the sake bottle once more. "In a general nutshell, it was bad. I don't dare to think what could have happened, had I not been there."

"How bad?" Reborn asked.

"Ienari would have gotten his wish to be an only child."

Reborn drew in a sharp breath. His heart ached at the mere thought of losing Tsuna like that. Unbidden the bridge incident rose in his mind. It seemed that was twice that Reborn nearly lost his Sky before they had even met.

"And what happens next?" Reborn asked, letting the second incident rest in the back of his mind.

"Nono will most likely bring Ienari to Italy to finish his training," Ayame said. Her gaze sharpened, the gold glittering in the moonlight, a warning. "And you need to make a choice."

 _Choose wisely_ went unsaid _._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Daybreak**

The sun broke the horizon, ushering in a new day. To the ignorant, the sleepy town of Namimori was heading into another normal routine. To the knowing, this was simply the lull, the break in the waves, sensing the tsunami building in the distance.

"Good morning, Nono."

Nono broke his gaze away from the window. "Hello, Reborn."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Arrival**

"Enjoy the plane ride, Tsuna?"

Tsuna narrowed his eyes. "Alright, why did you come back early?"

Ayame huffed and crossed her arms. "Don't be so suspicious."

"Neesan."

"I just needed to talk to Reborn, alone," Ayame said irritably.

Tsuna sighed softly. He still didn't understand what exactly she had against Reborn. She still refused to budge on the exact reason why. But since they've kept a tense truce, he hadn't done anything to force the issue. "And where is Reborn?"

"At the hospital."

Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise. Did she put Reborn in the hospital? "Neesan!" He flew out the door, not waiting to hear what she had to say next.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Count Your Sins**

"You have my thanks, Reborn. Ienari has truly grown strong," Nono said with a smile.

Reborn merely tipped his head, settling onto Nono's hospital bed. For once, his words choked in his throat, unable to form them. At the core of everything, Nono was ignorant. Not innocent, no the sealing of Ienari's Flames had caused so many issues, no matter his reasoning behind it. But he was so ignorant. He didn't know what was happening in Namimori. Even now, to Nono, Tsuna was the frail older twin who didn't know anything about Vongola and Ienari was a shiny rising star.

He didn't know how blinded he was, by Tsuna and Ayame's plan.

(It was brilliant, Reborn could admit in the privacy of his mind. Nono was fooled, all of Vongola was fooled. No one was wiser.)

Nono knew nothing about the issues between the twins, knew nothing of the attacks in Namimori or how Tsuna's Sky Flames burned brighter than anything Reborn had seen before.

Reborn wanted to yell, to demand an explanation as to why Nono had sealed Ienari's Flames, to cause the Sawada Family such heartfelt grief. (Because Tsuna was his Sky, Nana was so welcoming and understanding, and their differences aside, Ienari was still his student.) There were mafia dons and there were Vongola Dons and Reborn had thought Nono was different. (Such a foolish notion, idealistic and stupid, whatever made him think such a thing was possible in the darkness of the underworld?)

Everyone had feet of clay.

Reborn wanted to know, had so many questions and yet they remain beneath his tongue. He didn't dare to ask, didn't want to question. (The pedestal was already crumbling and Reborn knew if he trodden too far, that plan that Tsuna and Ayame had worked so far to complete would also unravel.)

"Do you intend to still bring Ienari to Italy?" Reborn asked.

Coward.

(But he was also only human.)

Nono nodded. "The Shadow Court's attacks seem to have stopped, but it will be easier to protect him in the long run. As long as Ienari agrees."

"He will," Reborn said confidently. Vongola meant power and Ienari craved nothing less.

"Will you return as well?" Nono asked mildly.

Technically, Reborn's contract was up. If Vongola was going to take Ienari into their protection, there was no real need for a 'tutor'. Especially since Reborn was not a part of Vongola in the first place.

Reborn closed his eyes. A choice. A decision. A crossroad. Constantly, people asked. Ayame asked. Giotto asked. To stay or go.

Stay or go.

Stay with Tsuna, the good and bad, the potential enemies, the potential tainting. Or go, back to his old life, lonely and powerful, and so far from the closest thing he could call home.

It was an easy choice. (It was a difficult choice.)

But Reborn knew his answer.

"No," Reborn said firmly. "There is something else I must see to."

Nono smiled at him. It was warm and gentle (and so easily part of the deception, an act of a grandfatherly old man). If Reborn didn't know better, he would have easily mistaken Nono for a kindly old man who was hospitalized. "That's too bad," he said.

The door to Nono's hospital room slid open. There in the doorway, Tsuna leaned against the frame, panting. "Re-Reborn?"

"Tsuna?!" Reborn stood, surprised. Why was he here?

Tsuna froze, eyes snapping to Nono. "Ah… it seems I misunderstood. I thought Reborn had been admitted to the hospital, not that he was visiting someone…"

"Hoho, you must be Tsunayoshi," Nono said with a smile. "I don't suppose you remember me."

Tsuna gave him a shaky smile. "I do… it's been awhile Nonno."

Nono smile at him, still warm and friendly. "I should apologize for keeping your father away so often."

Tsuna pursed his lips. "It is largely his choice as well," he said softly. He smiled. "Tousan works hard."

Nono nodded. Reborn on the other hand, jolted in realization, the sense of wrongness. The smile on Tsuna's face looked false and hollow, simply polite with no real joy.

Tsuna bowed. "I'm sure you need your rest. I won't linger. It was good to see you again, Nonno."

Nono smiled back. "It was good to see you as well."

Reborn mentally frowned at the awkward tension in the room and said nothing as Tsuna closed the door and left.

"I wonder if Iemitsu or Ienari told him the truth about Vongola," Nono said mildly. "Tsunayoshi seemed rather angry."

Reborn tipped his hat. Tsuna had every reason to be. "I do not blame him," Reborn answered honestly.

Nono gave a tired sigh. Reborn took it as a sign to take his leave as well. The cards had been dealt and for better or worse, good and bad intentions, they lay as they fell, a game that was already concluded, even if half of the side was still unaware.

Reborn would bow out, fold his hand. He would trust Tsuna's lead instead.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Don't Look Back**

Dino stared down at the cup of coffee that Romario had brewed for him. The bitter smell reminded him of Reborn. He sighed, thoughts heavy. Last night, it had been confirmed. Ienari was Decimo, the next successor. Last night was the last time Dino could afford to delude himself. It was amazing that Reborn hadn't tossed him into remedial training.

He barely built any relationship with Ienari in all the time Dino had spent in Namimori. Given how close their famiglias were, that was a terrible mistake.

But…

He pulled out the golden charm that Ayame had made for him, rubbing his thumb over the soft material.

Reborn had taught him to trust his gut and all this time it was Tsuna that Dino felt drawn to. He pursed his lips. It wasn't a good move to drop an alliance with Vongola. He leaned back in his chair, resting his arm over his eyes.

There was no reason to stay in Namimori more. Ienari was most likely going to be brought back to Italy and Dino had a duty, a responsibility to his own famiglia. He couldn't just… continue on with this whimsical desire.

"What do I do?" Dino asked.

"Let your heart rule your head," Romario said.

Dino looked at his right-hand man. "It won't benefit the famiglia," Dino said. "In fact, it could set us to war with Vongola."

Romario merely shrugged. "We will deal it as it comes. All we want, Boss, is for you to be happy. And if it makes you happier to relocate the entire famiglia to Japan, then we will deal with it." He gestured to the golden charm Dino was holding. "If nothing else, do you not have something you need to discuss with Miss Ayame before we leave?"

Dino looked at charm, closing his eyes. Ayame with her crushing loneliness and heart so large. Ayame with her fiery temper and quiet thoughtfulness. Ayame with her sharp mind and gentle hands.

"Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all," Dino said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Weight**

Xanxus woke, cursing darkly. He lost. He fucking lost to that piece of trash. How?!

Weight. Somehow, for a brief second, his body had felt heavy, sluggish as if something was pressing down on him. Enough for his guard to drop and allow that fucking trash to take a hit. Xanxus snarled, blood pounding under his skin. He didn't accept this, he fucking didn't.

Someone had tricked him. There was no way that that scumbag had that ability. This was unacceptable. He would find out who was responsible and destroy them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Leap of Faith**

Reborn found Tsuna waiting outside of the hospital, kicking his legs idly as he sat. "Tsuna," Reborn said. He paused, swallowing dryly.

Tsuna smiled at him; this one was familiar, warm and friendly like usual. "Reborn," Tsuna said. "Finished with Nono?"

A leap of faith. Trust was a hard concept for Reborn, something he rarely ever gave away. But trust was a two-way street, where would it take him?

"Yes," Reborn said with a nod. "He still plans on taking Ienari to Italy. I've informed that I will not return with them."

' _I'm staying'_ went unsaid.

There was clear elated joy in Tsuna's eyes at that response. Reborn felt the rush of Sky Flames, the deep and overwhelming feeling that beckoned him and welcomed him home. Tension swept away at the boundless affection and acceptance. How could he have ever doubted this?

Tsuna hummed, delighted. "Thank you," he said, gratitude reflecting in his words.

Reborn hopped onto the wall, sitting next to Tsuna. He hesitated for a brief second before asking, "How do you really feel about Iemitsu?"

The joy fled from Tsuna's face, a tired and weary look replacing it. "It's complicated, I supposed. I understand why he did it, why he doesn't come home, but I haven't forgiven him."

"For becoming involved with Vongola?" Reborn asked. Vongola had always known about Giotto's family line in Japan. But it wasn't until Iemitsu had joined that they had become interested in them again.

Tsuna shook his head. "No. For not coming home when I was dying."

_What?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -smiles-
> 
> As previously mentioned, the conversation Ayame and Reborn had was what sparked this entire fic into life. It took so long to get here, but I'm so proud that I've made it at least this far. How many of you picked up on the fact that Tsuna's Harmonization overriding Ienari's was never mentioned back in chapter 12? We touched upon the themes of home and power in this fic which I'm sure plenty of you picked up on. 8D There are still choices to be made, but Reborn has made his.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. What did you think of the safety and Sky Flames conversation?
> 
> See you next month.
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes**
> 
>  
> 
> See Chapter 27 Descendant (Come Back Please) for Daemon teasing Giotto about Hidetada.  
> See Chapter 5 Lullaby and Chapter 12 Secrets of Namimori for Ienari falling out of the tree.  
> See Chapter 21 Drowning, Chapter 28 Drowning for Ienari's feeling of drowning.  
> See Chapter 14 Dino for Dino encountering Tsuna's harmonization for the first time.  
> See Chapter 12 for Reborn wondering why Tsuna's harmonization hadn't override Ienari's  
> See Chapter 4 Trouble for Ienari's quote about Tsuna being nothing but trouble.
> 
> Tsuna and home have been mentioned frequently together throughout the entire story. Likewise, Ienari and power had been mentioned frequently together.
> 
> Yoshimune and Hidetada, Giotto's twin sons have been mentioned frequently together throughout the story. Canon wise, only Yoshimune exists.


	33. Moment of Truth Arc: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian  
> Mochida Kensuke* - Hisen's cousin, captain of kendo club. Storm Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.  
> Sawada Hidetada - Giotto's son. Twin to Yoshimune  
> Sawada Yoshimune* - Giotto's son. Twin to Hidetada
> 
> * - canon character
> 
> 946 reviews 2,151 favorites 2,322 alerts. * u * Thank you so much for the support!

**Requiem of a Tragedy**

Reborn froze, running Tsuna's words in his head over again. What did that mean? His throat felt dry as his mind swam. How many? How many times did he nearly lose Tsuna before Reborn met him? When? Why didn't Ayame say anything?

"Tsuna?" he asked, for once wary and unsure. He shook, his carefully maintained persona shattering. (But Tsuna and this town always, always, constantly challenged him, forcing him to look closer and doubt even what he had seen and heard.)

Tsuna looked at him with a sad smile. "Like I said, complicated. Let's move somewhere more private. I think it's time I told you what happened between Ienari and me when I was eight."

He gently picked up Reborn and headed home. Reborn sat quietly in Tsuna's arms, trying to process. As he gained some balance, he found himself back in Tsuna's bedroom with Tsuna handing him a thick medical file.

Reborn swallowed, taking the file, almost afraid of what it contained.

"Do you know about the kidnapping attempt that happened when I was eight?" Tsuna asked. His voice remained leveled and calm.

Reborn nodded weakly. "Ayame explained it to me," he said.

"Right, so Neesan thinks that was Ienari's breaking point," Tsuna said. "I met Neesan during the summer. That autumn, our school had a field trip. It was one of those three days, two nights types, to build independence away from our parents, a simple camping trip up the mountains."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Fall of a King**

"Ienari! Where are we going?" Tsuna asked as his twin pulled him along with him. Privately, Tsuna was happy that Ienari was willing to take him with him. It had been odd these last couple years with Ienari constantly pushing him away. The close call they had a couple months ago seemed to ignite a dangerous anger in Ienari that left Tsuna fearful. But if Ienari was willing to spend time with him, perhaps things were not so bad.

Ienari said nothing, pushing Tsuna forward through a thicket.

"Wow," Tsuna said, stepping forward. It was a cliff with a view of the entire mountain range. He soaked in the sight, watching as the trees stretched for miles. Looking down, a river curved through the trees, its bed full of rocks.

He turned back to look at Ienari, beaming. "This is beautiful Ienari!" he said, just in time to see Ienari reaching out towards him.

Inari  _pushed_ him. Tsuna stumbled backwards and over the cliff.

Suddenly he couldn't breathe.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Snip the Bond**

"He pushed you?" Reborn asked. When Ayame had said it was bad, he didn't think that Ienari would have gone as far as to attempt to  **murder**  Tsuna.

"Yes," Tsuna said, closing his eyes. "It was about 7 meters above the ground with the riverbed being what I landed on. I broke multiple bones including one of my lower vertebrate. One particularly sharp rock managed to pierce my stomach. My ribs broke, puncturing one of my lungs. I couldn't  _breathe_."

Reborn drew in a sharp breath. "How did you survive?" he asked, stunned beyond belief. That kind of fall, it was a miracle it hadn't killed Tsuna on impact. Not to mention that they were up in the mountains alone.

Tsuna let out a humorless laugh. "I've never been so grateful for Neesan's paranoia." He pulled out a worn orange charm. "She had woven countless protections into it. Not enough to stop the injury, but enough to alert her that something had happened. I don't remember it, but she was the one who got me to the hospital. It was… bad."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Blood on My Hands**

Ayame trembled, clenching and unclenching her hands, still stained with Tsuna's blood. She glanced up at the 'in surgery' light gleaming at her. She hadn't expected that tiny boy she had met to end up in such a serious condition. Thank Inari-sama that she tagged him with her usual protection charms. It wasn't enough, she needed to add stronger ones so something like this didn't repeat, but, but, but-

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her heart continued to race. Too soon. Too soon. She was unbalanced, teetering on the edge of losing her grip on sanity.

It was fortunate that someone else cracked before her.

"Where is my son!" shouted a young woman.

"Sawada-san, please calm down!" the nurse pleaded with her.

Sawada Nana, Ayame recognized. Tsuna's mother. She stood, reaching out to place a calming hand on Nana's shoulder. Her eyes flickered to the nurse's nametag: Akito. "I got her Akito-san," Ayame said.

"Ayame-sensei," Akito said with a bow. "If you must."

"Sawada-san," Ayame said. "I'm Ayame. I was the one who found your son."

"What happened?" Nana said, desperately grabbing Ayame's shoulders and clenching tight. "I-I got a call from the hospital that Tsu-kun was hurt. How? He and Ienari are away on a school field trip!"

"It still requires further investigation, but it seems that he fell," Ayame said. "I found him bleeding out. He's currently in surgery."

"Ah, are you Sawada Tsunayoshi's mother?" a doctor interrupted them. He was still dressed for surgery, blood still staining his gown.

Nana paled at his appearance. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Doctor Nakamoto, Ayame remembered, grimace. "I'm sorry," he said as gently as he could. Ayame felt cold washing over. No. No, it couldn't be.

"We've stabilized the bleeding, but… we're afraid he won't make it. The damage to his organs is too great. A rock pierced his stomach; it's too damaged. There's more damage to one of his kidneys and liver. His ribs cracked, one punctured his lung. We've also discovered at least one of his spine vertebrae was fracture. If by some miracle, he survives, we aren't sure if he'll walk again. There are multiple fractures scatter his arms and legs," Nakamoto said.

"No, no, no," Nana said, knees giving out. Ayame just barely caught her, stunned as well. "Not my Tsu-kun."

"Let me try," Ayame blurted out. She couldn't let Tsuna die. Last time… last time she couldn't do anything and now history was repeating on her, she couldn't fail. Not again.

"Ayame-sensei," Nakamoto started.

"I'm aware I do not have all the necessary training." It never stopped her before. One of the few perks of being a genius was that she learned fast and under pressure. "I will take full responsibility. Should anything go wrong and you can tell everyone that I forced you into it." She turned to Nana, pleading. "Please, Sawada-san. Let me try."

"Don't give her false hope," Nakamoto reprimanded her. "Tsunayoshi will need a stomach transplant at least and we have none ready to go."

"It's not legal yet, but I have a stomach," Ayame said.

"You deal with the black market-"

"No," Ayame cut him off. "Highly experimental, but my latest experiment is man-grown synthetic organs. It's not legal yet. In fact, I only finished a prototype a month ago. I have no idea if Tsuna's body will reject the organ or not."

Nakamoto growled at her. "Even if I agree, the damage is extensive. His body is already stressed out."

Ayame bit her lip, hesitating for a second. "I have something that can fix that as well. That one has been tested regularly but has never been released outside, ah, of my family. That technology… it won't leave that room, I won't explain it to anyone and the NDA you signed when I agreed to work here ensures you can't speak of it. But that fine detailed work, the correction and the ability to reinforce the bones without cutting Tsuna open again. I can do that."

Tsuna… Tsuna was just a little boy she met and Ayame was bewildered that she was throwing herself so fervently into saving him. But after that… she couldn't. Asher would be so disappointed in her, if she didn't at least try, secrets be damned. Tier would… Tier would… She forced those thoughts away.

"With your permission, Sawada-san," Ayame asked.

Nana nodded. "Please, save my son."

Ayame nodded, marching into the prep room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Phone Call**

Nana gripped the payphone, tears threatening to fall. Her hands trembled as she fed the machine enough coins. Her head bowed, tears now free falling as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Iemitsu," Nana hiccuped. She desperately clung to hope that Ayame would be able to Tsuna, but, but, but if she couldn't… She wanted Iemitsu home, she needed his support right now.

"Nana, darling!" Iemitsu's cheerful voice rang. "What's wrong dear?"

"Tsuna," Nana managed to get out before choking on her words. She tried to imagine a world without one of her sons.

"Oh? Is Tsuna being a difficult child? Cheer up Nana. It's just boys being boys."

No! That was not that case here! "Iemitsu," Nana tried again. "Tsuna-"

Iemitsu cut her off. "I have to go dear. Call back later!"

Nana stared at the phone, numb as Iemitsu hung up on her. She spun, staring at the surgery light that was still on, feeling sick. She swayed, sinking into a nearby seat. Iemitsu… Iemitsu didn't even let her explain.

She wrapped her arms around her, curling tighter as she cried.

Chest heaving, she wrestled her emotions under control and marched back to the phone. She inserted more money and waiting for Iemitsu to pick up again.

"Iemitsu, come home," she said.

"Nana darling!" her husband answered. "I can't right now."

"Tsuna needs you," she said. "I need you. Tsuna is-"

"I can't right now, Nana," Iemitsu said, the cheer dropping for his voice. "This project is super important!"

"Iemitsu! Come home!" she pleaded, hysterical. Why wouldn't he let her explain? Why was he refusing? She had never asked him to come before, always understanding his job. Was it not enough that she was asking? That something was wrong?

"Sorry, Nana! I'll be home in a couple months!"

"Tsuna might be dead by then!"

But the click told her that Iemitsu hadn't heard her last words. Nana let the phone fall from her hands. A nurse quietly approached her, guiding her back to the waiting. Nana stared at the ground, numb. Her heart exploded with grief, tears running down her face, the salty and bitter taste. She hiccuped, so fearful as to what was happening to Tsuna.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Damning Truth**

"How is he?" Nana asked, the minute Ayame stepped through the doors.

"It's going to take awhile for him to recover, but we're certain he'll recover as long as his spirit holds," Ayame said, wiping her brow. Nakamoto had been stunned into silence and thank Inari-sama that she had the foresight to slap an NDA on every staff member in the hospital before she started work here.

Still, between the technology Ayame had at her fingertips plus the countless spells and spiritual blessings she could remember, Ayame had thrown all of her knowledge at it. It barely wasn't enough (and if she warded against death, pinned down Tsuna's soul so that it wouldn't flee before she could heal all the damage, that was between her and Engetsu). Bones were knitted back together, reinforced with more calcium, the stomach was replaced, other organs stitched back together and only time would tell if she managed to fix the nerve damage.

If she was planning on leaving here to perform a couple more rituals and call in a couple favors from spirits who could heal, well again, that was between her and Engetsu.

Nana collapsed in her arms. Ayame froze, unused to being touched in such a manner. She awkwardly patted Nana on the back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Nana chanted, pressing her head against Ayame's shoulder.

"I didn't get a chance to mention it, but your other son is fine," Ayame asked. She didn't like the implications that were beginning to settle in her mind, but it was something to investigate when her emotions weren't running so high.

Nana merely sobbed harder.

"Ah…" Ayame said, unsure how to comfort her. She continued to pat Nana's back. "Is your husband coming soon?" she asked, trying to change the subject and get Nana to stop crying.

Nana flinched and pulled away. "N-No. He works overseas and cannot get time off from work."

"Ah," Ayame said. Well, that was probably horrible to be stuck overseas when one of his children were dying. Tsuna hadn't mentioned his father at all and outside of his name, Sawada Iemitsu, it hadn't pinged much on the cursory background check she had done. "Can I ask which company? I have a couple connections overseas. Maybe I could pull some strings?"

Tsuna would probably feel better if his father was here. If all else failed, Koumei owed her a favor too. He was menacing enough that people would trip over their feet if she sent Koumei.

"It's called CEDEF Construction," Nana said, wiping away her tears.

Ayame flinched. Oh, that was worse. So much worse. She recognized that name. "I see," she said. Well, that… that explained some things and brought up more questions.

"You know that company," Nana said. It was not a question, a statement. "What can you tell me about it?"

Ayame crinkled her nose. Nana didn't know. That… was on many different levels of horrifying. That Nana didn't know, that Iemitsu didn't tell her, the uncomfortable realization that they were connected to the Italian Mafia.

"Please," Nana pleaded with her. "He… I keep calling, and he won't tell me why he won't come home."

By Inari-sama. It wasn't that he couldn't come home, but because he wouldn't?! Ayame was not liking the picture that beginning to form in her mind regarding the Sawada Family. An absent father who was married to his job, a twin brother felt wrong to Ayame's finely tuned senses, Tsuna who was covered in far too many scratches and bruises for it be just clumsiness and a mother who was clearly overwhelmed. "It's… nothing good," she said, warily.

"Tell me," Nana asked. "I… I'm losing control. The boys grow older but they keep fighting with each other. Iemitsu hasn't been home in three years already and I don't know to do. He wouldn't even listen to me as I tried to tell him that Tsuna was possibly dying."

"The CEDEF Construction is a cover company. They're connected to the mafia," Ayame said bluntly.

Nana recoiled away from her. Ayame slumped her shoulders. She was never really good at sugar coating the truth. She threaded a hand through her hair, feeling the exhaustion hit her. By Inari-sama, she was so tired.

"The mafia?" Nana said quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. She turned away, resting her forehead against the wall, trembling. "He… never said…" she whispered faintly.

"The CEDEF Construction is a cover for Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia, the advisors for Vongola, the largest mafia famiglia in existence," Ayame said. She grimaced at the mere thought. There was little love between Ayame and the Italian Mafia.

Nana's knees buckled. "Oh my god," she said. "I didn't know. How… when did Iemitsu… has he always been one?" She gripped Ayame's sleeve. "What does that mean, for my sons?"

Ayame hesitated. "It could be nothing. It could mean he wants them inducted later on."

"No," Nana said. "No, not my sons." Her eyes widened. "Iemitsu said… one for me, one for him, when the boys were born."

Not Tsuna, Ayame decided then and there. She didn't know Ienari, but if she was going to throw one into the mafia, it was going to be Ienari. (Ayame was no saint, and if she had sacrificed one, it was going to be the one she didn't care about.)

"Let me gather more information for you," Ayame said. "Before you decide to do anything."

Nana weakly agreed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Shatter My Perceptions**

Nana drew a shaky breath as she looked at Tsuna's still formed. It had been three days since the first time the hospital called her. Tsuna had been rushed back into surgery two more times, repairing even more damage and stubbornly holding on.

She took a seat at Tsuna's bedside, trying to put her world back in order. Ienari had come back yesterday and had outright lied to her face about Tsuna. Nana's heart ached that her youngest would lie to her like that. The brief flicker of rage she had seen on his face when she informed him that Tsuna was still alive and in the hospital… it sent chills down her spine.

Where had it gone wrong?

Why hadn't she seen it?

She was a failure as a mother.

The door slid open. "Sawada-san."

It was Ayame. Nana didn't quite know what to make of her. All the nurses had told her was that she was a recent graduate medical student, finishing her training here. She was so young, looking largely out of place among the other doctors and nurses.

But Nana was so grateful for her. Ayame had assigned herself to oversee all of Tsuna's recovery; whatever technology and talents she had were poured into Tsuna's recovery. Nana couldn't even begin to pay her back. She hadn't lost Tsuna because of Ayame.

"Ayame-sensei," Nana greeted.

Ayame gave a small nod, looking weary and exhausted. Her golden eyes were old, aged far beyond what a young girl should be. Nana took a moment to recall how over the last couple weeks, Tsuna had mentioned making a friend with gold colored eyes. Nana counted her blessings, having no doubt that Ayame wouldn't have tried as hard if she hadn't known Tsuna.

Ayame handed her a thick file with Interpol's official emblem stamped across it. "This is everything Interpol knows about CEDEF," she said. Ayame then handed her a piece of paper with a string of numbers on it. "This is a phone number to someone in Interpol you can call to confirm the information. You might have met him, Hibari Koumei."

Nana accepted both, thankful that she was giving her the option to confirm the information. She had taken to examining everything that Iemitsu had told her over the years, dismayed to find more and more weakness in the things he had told her. Nana didn't know Ayame, couldn't trust the information she was giving her, but at least Ayame was willing to tell her the truth.

(Unlike Iemitsu.)

(How could she have been so blind?)

She wondered how Ayame knew Hibari Koumei or how she had manage to pull information that was probably top-secret in Interpol. But for now, Nana would let that slide. Tsuna was more important.

"Once you're done with that, I have another file, much thicker, about Vongola from Interpol," Ayame said. "Then entire boxes worth of my own personal information on CEDEF, Vongola and Iemitsu himself."

"Thank you," Nana said, full of deep gratitude. She wanted to see for herself where the lies and truths begin and end.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Emotionally Wrought**

Ayame bowed her head in silent grief. Piles of paper stacked above her, an endless pit of blood, fear and power. She had no idea.

_Vongola_.

It was a name she had familiar with, a by product of her childhood, unfortunately. She had known that Vongola was an the largest and greatest Italian Mafia family in existence. But she never dug into it.

(After Sinapri, Ayame wanted nothing to do with Italy and its underworld.)

Was this her karma for Sinapri? To meet Tsuna who was so deeply entrenched in Vongola's bloodied history without even knowing it?

She pushed away her grief, shaking her head and summoning up more courage. "If you start something, you see it through the end," Ayame said, picking up another file.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Curse Inheritance**

Nana felt as if she was shattering. Her hands shook, crumpling the piece of paper she held. All these years, all those lies. This was the reality of what Iemitsu did.

Two weeks since the incident and Tsuna had yet to wake. Ienari continued on, still blissfully unaware and absolutely happy that he didn't see Tsuna. (Nana didn't even encourage Ienari to come to the hospital.) Iemitsu still hadn't bother to call back and  _ask_  her why she was upset or if she had manage to sort out the issue with the boys. All the while, she swallowed tomes of information about Vongola and the CEDEF.

Everything was falling apart and it felt like Nana was the only one aware.

No. That wasn't true.

"Sawada-san," Ayame said.

Ayame had been a steadfast presence from the start, looking just as worn as Nana felt. Gently, Ayame pried the paper away from her hands, handing her a sandwich instead.

"It's just speculation," Ayame murmured. "There's no proof that your husband had committed these crimes."

"He's the main suspect," Nana said bitterly. Murder, kidnapping, theft, organized hits. It seemed Iemitsu had tried his hand in just about everything before he had reached the top of the CEDEF and became practically untouchable. "Doesn't change the fact that he is still a mafioso."

"No, no it doesn't."

"What am I going to do?" Nana asked helplessly. She gestured to the many files spread throughout Tsuna's hospital room. "There's so much, Vongola is so big. And… and… Iemitsu is one of its top powers. Then there is his bloodline. Both my sons are in line to inherit Vongola."

Nana was so afraid. Ienari was beginning to spiral out of control. That anger she had hoped would temper with age was getting worse and she didn't want to think about the lie Ienari had told her about Tsuna's incident, didn't want to think that her youngest had anything to do with it, didn't want to believe that Ienari was capable to actually hurting Tsuna to point of nearly killing him.

Tsuna, Nana was doing so wrong by Tsuna who grew quieter and quieter with each passing day. It ashamed her that sometimes she forgot that her oldest existed, slipping away without her even noticing.

Vongola would destroy her sons. It would kill Tsuna's heart. It would turn Ienari into a monster.

"There are still others before then, even if they have a more direct claim," Ayame said. "There's only two options really. You can run, take your sons and hope that Vongola never finds you or you can fight. I can help you with both."

Nana closed her eyes. She thought of Iemitsu and the love she had felt. She thought of her sons, of Tsuna on the brink of death, of Ienari who lied to her. She thought of the day they were first born, when Iemitsu held Ienari and told her 'one for her and one for him'.

"Fight," Nana said.

"You might lose them both or you might only save one," Ayame said.

"Vongola is widespread enough that if I run I will lost them both," Nana whispered. "I would like to save them both, but if I have to save one…" She squeezed Tsuna's hand. "Iemitsu already said, one for me, one for him."

The following summer Iemitsu showed up for a few brief days, with the same boisterous laugh and cheer. Nana merely smiled and didn't bring up the incident up. Her heart grew cold as Iemitsu dotted on Ienari, never asking where Tsuna was. It was fine.

Iemitsu could pick Ienari. Nana picked Tsuna.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**The Greatest Tragedy (is what could have been)**

"When I woke, Neesan was by my side, explaining how I ended up in the hospital, the extent of my injuries and how long I would have to recover. Later on, I learned about Vongola and Tousan's role. I spent my 9th birthday in the hospital," Tsuna said. He scrubbed his eyes, so weary. "Neesan threw everything into understanding Dying Will Flames, the status of Vongola and why Ienari was so, well, angry. When we met Papa nearly a year later, all the pieces fell into place. Then we started planning."

Reborn closed Tsuna's medical file, feeling sick to his stomach. With the way he continue to dote on them, he never thought Iemitsu would be so careless as to ignore an upset Nana. But, well as Fon put it, it was like forcing a fantasy on to reality when it came to Iemitsu and his disillusion about family.

That Ienari would go as far as to attempt to murder Tsuna was another eye opener. It was one thing to say it, but he didn't actually think Ienari would have done it. How much of it was influenced by Nono sealing Ienari's Flames? How much of it them shattering and splintering apart? Reborn had been wrong. Ienari would fit perfectly into Vongola's bloodied mindset if he was willing to go as far as trying to kill Tsuna.

The Sawada Family was doomed from the start, with Iemitsu's lies and Nono's interference. Free falling, spiraling out of control until Ayame had come along, granting them a safety net. What would have happened if Ayame had never arrived?

(How much sooner would have Tsuna taken his life, snuffing out the brightest person Reborn had ever known?)

Would have Reborn met Tsuna? Or would have been an empty shell? A single divergence, a simple choice, a butterfly's effect.

Ienari would have broken Tsuna, cowed his brother into submission. Stolen everything from Tsuna, that gentleness, that patience, that acceptance.

What would have happened had Nono never interfered? Would Ienari's Flames burn just bright as Tsuna, untainted and warped?

So many what-ifs, so many possibilities lost. Reborn mourned the loss of could haves and would haves.

"After discovering that two of Nono's sons had already passed and that Ienari and I were next in line, I had decided that I didn't want anything to do with Vongola," Tsuna said. "Not after hearing the stories from Papa, or the list of crimes that Neesan had unearthed. I couldn't be Decimo, not without compromising who I was."

Tsuna clenched his fists. "Of course, I'm not sure about that if I'm willing to let Ienari go into that world without any warning or choice at all."

"We're not saints," Reborn said.

"No," Tsuna said. "Ienari is admittedly stronger than me, able to withstand that world. It's…"

"Complicated," Reborn filled in.

"Yes."

Reborn still approved. Better Ienari than Tsuna. Maybe there was another way to save them both, but if one had to be sacrificed, then Reborn was more than fine with Ienari being the lamb to slaughter.

"There were three plans," Tsuna recounted. "Plan A was the destruction of Vongola. Plan B was if I inherited. Plan C was if Ienari inherited. I prefered Plan C. It was the nonviolent, least threatening version and if done right, no one would have been wiser and ideally Vongola and Ienari would just… leave us be."

"Will they?" Reborn challenged. Vongola would continue to keep an eye on Tsuna and any children he had. Ienari was willing to kill Tsuna once, drive him to the point to suicide in another attempt, there was no telling what would have happened if Ienari discovered he could send people after Tsuna.

"Hmm, Neesan already has that worked out," Tsuna said with a sheepish grin. "I think she had too much fun with it. But well, better to let her handle that."

What exactly did Ayame know, what could she do that she was so confident that Vongola wouldn't be a threat? Truthfully, he still knew nothing about her abilities or history. She was still a mystery.

"Why did you consider jumping off the bridge," Reborn asked, changing the subject. After everything Tsuna went through, why throw it away all over again?

"It's… silly," Tsuna said. "Looking back. I was so happy, until Ienari reminded me of the reality of situation. Of our family, of Vongola looming in the distance, and I was… I guess overwhelmed by most of it. It was nice to meet Papa and Neesan was trying so far, but it was also exhausting. Somedays it still is."

"But… it's easier now. To remember that I have other people who care about me," Tsuna said with a fond smile. "It's easier to find reasons to keep moving forward."

Mentally, Reborn sighed in relief.

"And you're physically fine?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna nodded. "I gave Shamal my file a little while back so he's aware of the issue. Neesan constantly monitors me as well. No issues so far and it's been over five years."

Reborn hummed. Well as long as it lasted. He would keep a careful eye on Tsuna's health. It answered a couple of observations that Reborn had noticed as well. Like Tsuna's reliance on his arms, instead of his legs. Despite the flexible nature of his fighting style, Tsuna rarely, if ever, used his legs to kicked, favoring to punch instead. An injury to his spine most likely placed a subconscious effort not to use his legs so much. His morning runs with Ryohei were also probably to keep in shape and ensure that his legs still moved the way he wanted to.

So here was the mystery of Namimori, laid out in front of him. He was still missing a couple pieces, (he still no idea who the ninth occupant of the house was), but most of the puzzle was complete. The incident between Tsuna and Ienari when they were eight, the reasoning behind the oddity and madness, even what Tsuna and Ayame had planned.

It was a honor to finally be brought into the fold.

(It was a horror to finally know the truth.)

"What do you intend to do with the rest?" Reborn asked. He made his decision and Fon's decision was crystal clear as well. But the others, Dino, Colonnello, and Skull to name a few.

"Not all of them have said it, but most of them have made their choice already," Tsuna said.

"Bianchi, Shamal, Mukuro and his gang," Reborn listed. He had noticed that Bianchi had… just stopped her jobs, focusing more on the children and her refining her skills. Shamal hadn't even considered leaving, still content with the job he took up at the school as a nurse. Mukuro and his gang seemed oddly content as well, no schemes or traps lying in wait.

None of the kids, from level-headed Shoichi to eccentric Haru gave it any consideration at all. They jumped fully into the madness.

"Yes," Tsuna said with a light laugh. "Paperwork has been flying around like crazy."

"So we wait," Reborn concluded.

Tsuna nodded. "We wait."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Fork in the Road**

"So Ienari is going back to Italy with Vongola once they're all recovered," Fon said.

"As long as he agrees," Skull said.

"Which, from what we've seen, he will, kora," Colonnello added.

Reborn nodded in agreement. Next to him Dino looked up at the blue sky in melancholia. The four Arcobaleno and Dino gathered, the last meeting of tutors. Bianchi had passed with a wave of her hand and knowing look on her face.

"I will not be returning to Italy," Reborn announced.  _'I will be leaving the Mafia'_  went unsaid.

Colonnello, Skull and Dino both looked at him with varying degrees of shock. Fon, on the other hand, was not surprised at all.

"Quite a measure of trust," Fon said, amused.

Reborn scoffed at that. Well, it was true. Fon… had been in this madness for just as long as he had. Dino… well he owed his student this much and if Tsuna was right, Colonnello and Skull would be dragged into this madness.

"I supposed, I should say I also will not be returning to Italy anytime soon. China either," Fon said mildly.

"What," Colonnello said.

"I thought…" Skull trailed off.

"You missed that," Fon said, still amused. "They're no longer an issue, as such, I don't have any reason to return. I-pin likes it here and what little family I do have left is also nearby."

Colonnello frowned. "You two are planning something, kora." He looked at Dino. "You're not in it, but you know more than Skull and I."

Dino shrugged. "I have an idea and I bet it's along the same lines as what I thought."

"Come to your own conclusions and make your own choice," Reborn said. He tipped his hat and hopped away.

Dino followed after him, the two of them walking down the street.

"Reborn," Dino started.

"I think it's stupid," Reborn interrupted, already aware of what Dino was thinking. "I don't approve, but it isn't like she approves of me." The swing vote for Dino was always going to be Ayame, not Ienari, not Tsuna. Sure the twins played a large role, but his helpless student had to go and fall in love with the troublesome girl.

It had been so painful to watch too. Reborn realized it long before Dino ever did. Sourly, Reborn didn't even think she was good enough for Dino. Ayame was ill suited to the life of a mafia don's wife and in general drove him up the wall. It was like dealing with Verde, maybe even Iemitsu. Granted, Reborn would take Ayame's company over those two idiots any day, but it didn't mean he liked her any less. Reborn didn't like to be toyed with and Ayame was definitely toying with him. The only upside was that Ayame was utterly clueless about Dino's feelings.

"But talk to her before you make anything drastic decisions," Reborn said flatly. Knowing Dino, he was probably considering relocating the main portion of his famiglia here. Drastic, over the top, and completely in Dino's character. All for one girl.

Dino grinned at him. "I know."

"If she gets upset with you, know I'm planning on siding with Tsuna," Reborn said. He was not going to get in between them. If he did, he was going to side with Dino and kill Ayame which would make Tsuna upset and Reborn was not going to upset Tsuna.

Dino's grin only grew wider. "I know."

"Don't get hurt," Reborn said. He climbed to the top of the fence so that he was a closer eye level with Dino.

Dino's grin softened into something smaller, happier and fond. "Thank you Reborn."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**If I say I love you…**

Ayame sighed to herself, feeling that persistent tugging like usual. Honestly, most people, upon discovering her abilities, were often jealous, but none of them had to deal with said abilities every day. If her Sight wasn't overwhelming her, it was these nonstop feelings, telling her to do something, but never detailed enough for her to know what exactly Fate wanted her to do.

She blinked, finding herself back the park where she first met Tsuna. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. It was hard to believe sometimes that her life took a completely different direction just by meeting Tsuna here in this park.

"Ayame!"

She turned and instantly braced herself as Dino jogged up to her. Her eyes were glued to his feet, ready to dodge the moment Dino inevidently tripped and crashed into her.

"I don't always trip!" Dino protested, recognizing what she was doing.

"Past evidence says otherwise," Ayame grumbled. If money wasn't a real issue, she would have made Dino repair and clean every outfit he ruined. As it was, she was sure that she bought and replaced more clothes this year alone than the rest of her life.

Dino just smiled her, a tad sheepish. Ayame sighed and relaxed.

"I didn't know you were back already. Enjoy the beach?" he asked.

Ayame hummed. "It was nice and relaxing."

"And away from the Varia," Dino said, cheekily.

"Of course."

"Did you plan that?" Dino asked.

"Maybe," Ayame said. Of course, she did, but that was nothing she was going to outright admit. The wards had warned her of the Varia's advance, well before they arrived here in Namimori. It was unfortunate that the rest of the kids had run into Varia before they left, but since they came out of that incident without any real mishaps, it was fine. For now at least.

"Ienari won, securing his position as Decimo," Dino started. "There's even talk about moving him to Italy to finish his training."

"I've heard," Ayame answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"Reborn won't be returning to Italy though," Dino added on. "Which, works to my favor I guess."

Ayame's eyebrow rose. "It does?" Curious. Dino was Reborn's student, one Reborn was clearly fond of. She knew that they kept in regular contact, even as Reborn's jobs took him all over the world. The biggest sign was Dino coming all the way to Namimori just on Reborn's request.

"A good excuse to return to Namimori whenever I want to visit," Dino said brightly.

"Like you wouldn't have come anyways," Ayame said.

"I wouldn't have. It would have been too dangerous," Dino said softly. "Even now, I'm not sure it's good idea to return, once Vongola pulls out. Even if Reborn remains here."

Ayame hesitated for a brief second. "It's not like Namimori is completely defensive," she said, crossing her arms.

"No, it's not," Dino agreed with her.

Silence fell upon them. Ayame looked away, watching the wind blow through the trees, whistling softly. That persistent feeling had yet to leave, continuously tugging at her.

"Ayame," Dino started.

"Hm?"

Dino stepped forward into her personal space and Ayame found herself looking up at his brown eyes, clear like glass. She froze, not sure what to make of the serious expression on his face. Her head tilted to the side as she waited.

"I love you," Dino said softly.

An ice cold feeling washed over her, as if she was dropped into the ocean. Her breath quickened as she took a step back, a phantom touch stroking her cheek. She hunched her shoulders, curling her arms tight around her. The coppery smell of blood, ash and irises flooded her nose.

_I love you._

"Ayame!" Dino said, alarmed. He reached out her, but Ayame took another step backwards out of his reach.

She shook her head, tears welling up. "N-no," she said, taking another step back. Her throat tightened like a vice gripped collar choking her.  _Why would he do that?_  Her head spun; tears free falling.

"Ayame!"

She ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -takes Dino's feelings and stomps all over them- ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* So now you know what happened between the twins. Fun fact, the "flashback" part use to be chapter 1.
> 
> Also the arc title has been changed as it was causing some confusion. (This isn't the final arc of this fic. More like the halfway point really). The arc was titled Endgame originally, because this is the end of the game between Vongola and Tsuna. Also because all the secrets are coming out. Going forward, this arc will now be called  **Moment of Truth**
> 
> See you in a month. Please leave a review on your way out. Any other guess at what else might be revealed? Theories?
> 
> **General Notes**
> 
> The concept of man-made organs is what Tsuna was talking about in Chapter 5 Updated Information. This why Yousei's attacks and organ harvesting hits a nerve. Also this is why Ayame is the one who picks up Chrome and comes home with her (in case anyone was wondering why Mukuro and Chrome don't have that obvious connection of Mukuro creating Chrome's organs.)  
> Ienari fell from a tree, but felt like he was drowning thanks to Tsuna's Flames and the interruption from Nono sealing his Flames.  
> Tsuna fell from a cliff, but the puncture in his lungs meant he couldn't breath.  
> See Chapter 3 Outcast for the first time Nana mentioned 'one for me, one for him'.  
> See Chapter 7 Get Up for "If you start something, you see it through the end"  
> See Chapter 25 Doctor for when Tsuna gave Shamal his medical file. This is also the chapter that Shamal decides to call Tsuna his Sky.  
> See Chapter 14 Kindness for Bianchi's decision  
> See Chapter 28 Friendly Inquiry and Chapter At The Beach 31 for Mukuro decision.


	34. Moment of Truth Arc: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian  
> Mochida Kensuke* - Hisen's cousin, captain of kendo club. Storm Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.  
> Sawada Hidetada - Giotto's son. Twin to Yoshimune  
> Sawada Yoshimune* - Giotto's son. Twin to Hidetada
> 
> * - canon character

**Fall to Pieces**

"I'm going to see Tsuna, oyaji!" Takeshi called out.

Tsuyoshi waved his son off. That was his boy. Tsuyoshi didn't begrudge that Takeshi wanted to spend all his free time with Tsuna. Tsuna was someone precious to Takeshi and all Tsuyoshi wanted was his son to be happy.

He hummed as he swept the floor. In the distance, the sun was beginning to set, casting his restaurant in warm colors. It was empty for now; the dinner rush still some time away. Once he was done, he opened the closet door to put away the broom.

"Ayame?"

Tsuyoshi blinked to find Ayame sitting in the broom closet. She had her face buried in her arms, legs drawn close. How long had she been in there?

Ayame looked up at him. Tsuyoshi saw her red rimmed eyes, her soaked sleeves, concern and alarm growing stronger. He had never seen her like this and the fact that he hadn't heard her crying at all was worrisome.

"Ayame?" Tsuyoshi tried again, crouching down to the ground.

She shook her head, wiping her face with sleeve. "S-sorry," she weakly apologized.

"Nothing to apologize for," Tsuyoshi said, handing her a towel.

He gave her a few minutes as she wiped her face, drifting off, lost in her own thoughts. Sometimes he forgot how young Ayame actually was. She always took on impossible amounts of responsibility, trailblazing to new heights.

Now? Now, she looked like the young girl he remembered who he tried to teach how to cook, to join and sit at the table to eat with others. He remembered the young girl who looked so awkwardly confused by Tsuyoshi's and Nana's offer of help, who tried so hard to understand the concepts behind social interaction and family affection.

She looked so terribly lost and heartbroken.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tsuyoshi asked. His voice was low-pitched and gentle.

Grief ran across Ayame's face. "Dino confessed to me," she said bewildered.

Ah. "Flashback," Tsuyoshi said. Nana and him were the only ones who had witnessed the first time Tsuna had told Ayame that he loved her after his 11th birthday. The rest of the kids had already passed out and Ayame was tucking Tsuna in when he had softly mumbled it to her, half asleep.

She reacted poorly, lashing out. Engetsu had to pin her down and it took him and Nana hours to calm her down. It had been a sleepless night for them. It was only until the early hours of morning that Ayame managed to convey to them that being told 'love you' triggered her.

Tsuyoshi didn't want to know what could have happened in Ayame's life that she associated being told that people loved her with her trauma. He might be forced to dust off his sword.

"Come on," he said gently. "Let's get out of the closet. It can't be that comfortable in there."

Ayame gave him a distressed look, but followed him out, taking a seat at one of the tables. Tsuyoshi flipped the sign to closed. There was no way he would be serving people tonight. He sent a message off to Tsuna to tell him that Ayame was fine and set out to brew some tea.

Once it was done, he set the steaming cup in front of her, take a seat across. Ayame numbly took it, wrapping her hands around it, still lost in thought.

"How do you feel about Dino? Do you like him that way?" Tsuyoshi calmly asked.

"Does it matter?" Ayame asked, shoulders slumping.

"Do you want a relationship like that? Maybe not now, but eventually?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"I don't know. That's…" Ayame trailed off, eyes glazing over. "It's scary. I've never had one and after... it wasn't something I had ever considered looking for. It… didn't feel right. Besides, there are so many reasons why it would never work."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Heartbreak**

Rejection sucked. Dino carded a hand through his hair and tried not to think about the tight pain in his chest. Well, that answered his question. He would… bow out, leave Namimori and never return. It would probably be for the best.

"Dino-nii?"

Dino turned to see Takeshi waving at him. "Takeshi," he said, mustering up a smile.

Takeshi looked at him. His normal carefree expression fading away. "You okay?" he asked.

Dino forced his smile a bit wider. "Yeah."

Takeshi frowned. "If you're sad, don't be afraid to show it. Don't smile that false smile, it's okay to cry. Just remember that you're never alone," he said.

He grabbed Dino's arm and started dragging him off. "You should remember that," Takeshi said. "It's good words to live by."

"Where are we going?" Dino asked, letting himself be dragged along.

"I'm off to eat dinner with Tsuna. You should come."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Recklessly Falling**

Tsuyoshi held up his hand to stop her. "I know you have many reasons why it would never work, but first, I want to hear if you had any feelings for him."

Ayame drew in a sharp breath. She was… never the type to examine her own emotions. It had always been hard to convey them.

"Does he make you happy?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"No. He's… annoying, always tripping over and crashing into me," Ayame said instantly. But she thought of how he always came back, always trying to help her. She thought about how he sat with her in quiet silence, just having a presence there. She thought about how he kept bring her roses, how his silly antics made her smile in fond exasperation.

Ayame made a low-pitched whine.

Alright, maybe she like him a little bit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Give Your Heart a Break**

"Dino-nii, are you alright?" Tsuna asked.

Dino blinked, bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, still reeling from everything. "Of course," Dino said with the best smile he could foster.

"Don't smile like that," Tsuna reprimanded.

Dino winced. Reborn had already caught on the minute Dino walked through the door. Takeshi had seemed to already know, but Dino clung to the foolish hope that Tsuna wouldn't notice.

(Which, even without Hyper Intuition, was a foolish thought. Tsuna was downright perspective.)

"What's wrong?" Tsuna asked. He looked at Dino with such concern.

Dino swallowed thickly. Well in for a penny, in for a pound. "I… love Ayame."

The entire table, except for Reborn, froze before relaxing.

"That's good," Nana said brightly. "I think you'll be a good match for her."

Dino's expression tightened. "Well, she doesn't like me back."

Everyone once again froze. Dino looked at them warily, slightly surprised by their reaction. Considering the length they went to fool Vongola, did they not want to accept him just because he was also a mafioso?

"Dino-nii," Tsuna asked, slightly distressed. "By any chance, did you confess to Neesan?"

"Yes," Dino said, bewildered.

"And by any chance, did you use the word 'love' in that confession?" Tsuna asked.

"Well, yes," Dino said.

Tsuna groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Takeshi shook his head. The rest of the kids and Bianchi looked equally confessed while Reborn watched with a neutral expression.

"Oh my," Nana said.

"Well, that explains Tsuyoshi-san's text," Tsuna said. He sighed and sent Dino an apologetic look. "Sorry, Dino-nii. We didn't think to warn you. Neesan doesn't react well to being told that people love her. She handles expressions like 'I like you' or those that lampshade it like 'my heart beats for you', but any variation with the word love in it sends her into a full on panic attack."

"What?" Dino said, growing distressed himself. Any… variation of being told 'I love you' triggered her? He had stumbled across another one, after promising to do better?

"Any variation?" Bianchi asked in disbelief.

"Neesan said 'I love you' sends her into a full flashback," Takeshi said.

"I once told her 'love you so much' and it send her in a panic attack that caused her to destroy a wall and a table," Tsuna confessed. "It took Kaasan and Tsuyoshi-san hours to calm her down."

"That's…" Bianchi started.

"Unfortunate," Reborn finished.

"Don't tell Ayame-nee that we love her?" Fuuta asked.

Takeshi smiled at him. "No. Just give her a real tight hug. She'll get the message."

Dino whined in misery. "I'm a terrible person," he said, rubbing his hand over his face.

"You couldn't have known," Nana said. "Ayame doesn't tell people." She took Dino's bowl from him. "By now Tsuyoshi has calmed her down enough to be coherent. You best go to Takesushi to finish your conversation with her. I'll pack your food to go."

"But…" Dino said. Wouldn't she not want to see him?

Nana merely tutted. "No. If you let it wait, she will come up with reasons why she can't possibly date you without even factoring in how she really feels. Right now, she's emotionally wrought, but it's the best time to get an honest answer from her. Otherwise, she'll push you away."

"Neesan is convinced she doesn't deserve nice things," Tsuna added.

Takeshi gave a light laugh. "If we didn't drag her with us everywhere, she would have been content with turning our lives upside down from the shadows."

Dino just stared at them.

"Are you fine with leaving it like this?" Reborn asked.

Dino looked at his former tutor. It was barely there, but Dino could read the touch of fondness and exasperation in his form.

"No," Dino said.

Reborn's lips curled into a smirk. "Baka Dino, did I not teach you to do things with your Dying Will?"

Right. Right! Dino stood. "I'll be back."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Count the Reasons (why I love you, why I hate you)**

Ayame morosely stared down at the table, grief and exhaustion beating down on her relentlessly like a jackhammer.

Tsuyoshi had been talking softly for some time now, but Ayame wasn't following the conversation any longer. Her thoughts overwhelmed her, casting her adrift.

"Ayame."

She snapped out of her thoughts, jerking her head upwards. There, Dino sat across her, taking Tsuyoshi's seat.

"Why are you here?" Ayame asked. Her words were cutting and sharp.

Dino brushed it off. He gave her a wry grin. "I figured if nothing else, I should apologize for triggering you again. I am sorry."

"It's not like you could have known," Ayame said. The older she got, the more she wished this particular trigger didn't exist.

"And I told you, just because I couldn't have known doesn't mean I want to make you upset or uncomfortable." Dino said.

Ayame's eyes narrowed. "Why are you here?"

"I still like you," Dino said.

Ayame winced, tensing. "No," she said.

"Because you don't like me back?" Dino asked. "Or because you've come up with some reason why not?"

"No, yes. Both," Ayame stumbled over her words.

Dino surveyed her, his head tilting to the side in curious examination. "Tell me then what your deal breakers are."

"You're an Italian mafioso," Ayame snapped. Guilt welled up as a hurt look crossed Dino's face. Why was he making this so difficult?!

"I… I didn't think that would have been the thing you would have started off with," Dino said.

Ayame groaned and looked away. "It's not… It's not that you're Italian or that you're a mafioso," she said. "It's that you're a mafia don that's apart of the Italian Underworld. You're Don Cavallone. You… you could have been a yakuza or an American mobster. You probably could have even been apart of the Chinese Triad and I wouldn't have cared. And that says something considering I'm pissed at them on Kyoya's and Fon's behalf."

She pinched her nose, taking a deep bracing breath. "Being a prodigy whose parents were geniuses in their own respective fields did me absolutely no favors," Ayame said bitterly. "My entire childhood was filled with kidnapping attempts. Some never got off the ground, being crushed before then, others were successful. By the time I was six, I learned how to rescue myself. By the time I was ten, I decided that  _killing_  my kidnappers as a deterrent was the only way to get the message across that I wasn't going to tolerate it at all."

And it worked. After Sinapri, the starting point of that decision, the Italian mafia backed off with only a few exceptions. The rest of the underworlds caught on by the time she was twelve. The persistent extremists got caught in her traps as she continued to obscure her identity further. By the time she had met Tsuna, no one dared.

"I can trace approximately 40 percent of my kidnappings to the Italian mafia," Ayame said. She had no idea why that particular underworld was so interested in her. She suspected it had to do with her mother.

"Of those numbers, I can trace 30 percent to Vongola, 15 percent to other mafia famiglia or independent individuals, 10 percent were untraceable. The last 45 percent…," Ayame said, looking directly at Dino. Her eyes ablaze. "I can trace to the Cavallone Famiglia, to your father."

Dino flinched harshly. "My…"

"I don't blame you," Ayame said tiredly, energy draining again. "It's… you currently represent everything I hate about the Italian Mafia."

That didn't even touch the issues she had been building since meeting Tsuna. Vongola had force itself to the top of her hate list, displacing the Cavallone Famiglia merely because of how they treated Tsuna.

Silence fell. Ayame closed her eyes, waiting for Dino to leave.

"So…" Dino said, after another moment of silence. "Hypothetically speaking, since I can't change being an Italian, if I were to move my entire famiglia to Japan and leave the Italian Mafia would that no longer be an issue?"

Ayame's brain sputtered. She stood, chair falling back. "You must be joking! Do you even know how much paperwork goes into making you legal?!"

Dino beamed at her. "Oh good, you know about the paperwork too. I was wondering about that."

Ayame flipped the chair upright, sinking back into it. "You silly man," she bemoaned. "You can't… you can't just move your entire famiglia on the whim of a relationship possibly working out!"

Dino beamed harder. "You acknowledge the possibility of a relationship!"

Ayame counted to ten and reminded herself that this was Tsuyoshi's precious restaurant and she couldn't just destroy it.

"Still," Dino said, smile growing small. "I can't do anything but apologize for my father's actions. I can admit, even I have signed off a few kidnappings since coming into power. Not a saint, I'm afraid."

Ayame's shoulders slumped. "None of us are."

"Besides, my men are surprisingly on board with moving to Japan."

She groaned. "Of course they are. You're bonds and friendship." Dino's men would follow him to the end of earth.

Dino blinked at her, confused.

Ayame merely let out a pained noise and buried her face in her hands again. "You silly man," she repeated.

"What else?" Dino asked softly.

Ayame felt her chest tighten, her heart squeezing as if trapped in a vice grip and pounding hard. "We're doomed to fail," she said.

"You won't know until you try," Dino argued.

Ayame shook her head. "No. It's…" She reached out touching his pinky, sending out a small burst of her spirit energy. A red thread materialized, tied to Dino's pinky, spilling to the ground and out the door. "You already have a soulmate and it's not me."

Dino tugged at the red string gently. "I don't understand," he said.

"It's a Fate String," Ayame explained. She didn't bring them all forward, but Dino was covered in them. "Fate Strings are strings that connect you to people who will shape your life, for better or worse. Some are predetermined, from the moment you were born, some form after you meet people or as your relationship with them grow stronger. They can snap as you grow apart, change color or grow thicker as your relationship gets stronger."

She touched his wrist, materializing two more, thicker and intertwined together for a brief part before separating. A myriad of colors, green, yellow, orange, gold mixed between them. "These two connect you to Tsuna and Reborn."

"Is there one between us?" Dino asked.

Ayame shook her head. "No. They don't always form and sometimes they don't form until years after knowing someone. Or maybe we won't have any lasting impact on each other. They're fickle things all things considered. There's only one constant." She pointed back to the red string tied around Dino's pinky.

"The string tied to your pinky is always your soulmate, the other half of your soul. When it's colored red, it always means romantic love. And… you always meet your soulmate. Always," Ayame said, licking her lips and pushed away the grief. "It may be tomorrow, it may be ten years down the road. But you will meet them regardless."

"But," Dino started with a frown.

"Don't promise forever," Ayame cut him off. "I have… never been in a relationship, not a normal one at least. But I know this much, it's never going to be something causal. I don't… I don't have time for that, it's going to be something long term. And… you can't promise me forever, not when you have a soulmate out there."

Dino hesitated for a brief second. "It has always been a childhood dream of mines, to find someone I would adore to the sun and back, to choose who I would marry. I didn't want to be like other mafia dons whose marriages were politically arranged for the good of the famiglia," he said. "I don't have that many memories of my own mother before she passed, but looking back I got the feeling she was utterly miserable. And, even if I didn't know it at the time, I had caught my father with some of his mistresses when she was still alive."

He reached out, hesitantly hooking his index finger with Ayame's, not looking her in the eye. "I didn't want to do that to my future wife. You said I have a soulmate and I believe you. But you also said, I may meet them tomorrow, I may meet them ten years from now. I don't want to regret not trying because someone is out there for me, prearranged by Fate. This is today, not tomorrow, not the future. Maybe eventually I will want to spend forever with my soulmate, but right now, the person I want to get to know more, the one I want to see every day, is you."

Ayame choked. "I'm going to spend the entire time waiting for that shoe to drop," she weakly protested.

"I'm still selfish enough to ask," Dino said. "And I promise if you ever find your soulmate, I'll let you go."

"They're dead," Ayame said, grief overwhelming her. She didn't look at her pinky, didn't want to see- She stopped that line of thought, trying grip her emotions. "I will carry that grief for the rest of my life."

Dino crooned in sympathy.

"It doesn't matter though, if you don't like me back," Dino said. "Do you? Enough to at least try?"

She wanted to say no.

But…

_Live. Promise me you'll live, smile every day and live._

Her heart ached. She wondered what he saw in her, so broken and just clinging on. A wave of grief rose, drowning her. Dino just smiled at her and the grief retreated. Just a little. She thought of how Tsuna was her shelter, giving her a place to rest and a new purpose. She thought of Dino who drove her utterly around the bend, challenging her in different ways, but always there. Home for her, had always been among the bonds she shared with others. Tsuna was the rock, but Dino soothed a different part, the glue in the cracks. That she smiled just a little more...

"Okay," Ayame said. "Enough to try."

The atmosphere swirled, bubbling. Ayame stared at the newly formed Fate String, pink in color, tying hers and Dino's ring fingers together.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Dino asked, picking at the pink string and looking utterly memorized.

Ayame just laughed. How was this her life?

_Thank you for letting me be a part of your life._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A Step Forward**

Ienari groaned. His body ached, bruised and sore all over. The fight against Xanxus had been brutal and he was (once again) trapped in a hospital bed. Only the sweet taste of victory kept him from being bitter over it.

"Savoring your win?"

Ienari jumped, startled by Reborn's sudden appearance. "Yeah, of course," Ienari answered.

The look Reborn gave him, made Ienari's skin crawl. Even now, he wasn't sure what to make of his tutor. Ienari had no idea if he disappointed his tutor, if Reborn was proud of his progress. It was always a blank slate that Ienari hadn't been able to read.

"Nono is enquiring if you wish to finish your training in Italy," Reborn said.

"What?" Ienari said.

"Exactly that. To finish your training as Decimo, to learn the ropes of the famiglia and finish your school there," Reborn said.

Ienari blinked. "Are you coming too?"

"No. I'm not a part of Vongola, thus I cannot teach you all of its tradition," Reborn said. "I have already accepted my next job."

"Oh." There was a wave of… disappointment? Abandonment? Ienari wasn't sure. He had the feeling that he had just been… tossed aside.

"If I want to stay here?" Ienari asked. He wasn't sure if he was ready to leave his mother, (leave her with Tsuna?).

"That is your choice."

"What do you recommend?" Ienari asked.

Reborn gave him a flat look. "Go to Italy," he said. "There's a limit to what I can teach you and what I can do to protect you. You can stay in Namimori for another year to finish your middle schooling, but after that I would recommend going to Italy. But, all there's left to teach you are things that others can teach you, like Italian and Italy's laws. At this point in your training, you will gain more refinement from another Sky like your father, than under me."

"Oh," Ienari said.

"It's your choice," Reborn said.

Funny, it didn't really feel like it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Tip the Scales**

"So, they are hiding something, kora," Colonnello said. He and Skull had returned to the apartment they had been sharing during their time spent in Namimori.

"We knew that," Skull pointed out. "If nothing else, the fact that Senpai wasn't pushing Tsuna as a Decimo Candidate was obvious enough."

Colonnello nodded. It had been startling to see the change in Reborn. He wondered if Reborn even noticed how differently he was acting. Sure the aloof cold-hearted hitman was still there, but was so much 'softer' now.

"So, what are you planning on doing, kora?" Colonnello asked.

Skull paused, thinking deeply. "Did you notice? Tsuna felt a little like Luce."

Colonnello blinked. He… he had noticed. But of all the Arcobaleno, he was the only one who didn't know Luce very well. Lal knew Luce better and Colonnello stepping in Lal's place was the only reason why he could be counted among the Arcobaleno right now.

"I guess, kora," Colonnello said, frowning. No, wait. Skull couldn't be implying… "Are you saying both Fon and Reborn think of Tsuna as their Sky?"

That was mind blowing. It was one thing to find another Sky after losing Luce, but for both of them to harmonize with the same second Sky? The odds of that happening were close to nothing. Colonnello didn't even think it was possible.

Skull shrugged. He looked off into the distance, thoughts wandering. "It's not that hard, I think. Tsuna is... " he trailed off, grasping at words. "I think I could call Tsuna my Sky too. I have the loosest ties to the mafia out of all of us. The only reason why I stayed active in the mafia was because of Luce and when she died, the only reason why I kept coming back was because the people I considered to be family, the same people who thought I was nothing more nuisance, was there."

Colonnello flinched, remembering exactly how he and the others treated Skull. It was easy to forget that behind that whimpering, Skull was their equal. Even more importantly, he had been a civilian with little training and was a kid in comparison to the rest of them. It really was unfair the way they treated him. Shame washed over him.

"I don't think senpai has noticed it, but he has yet to kick me at all since coming to Namimori," Skull said mildly.

Colonnello flinched harder.

"Even if you find senpai's change in behavior odd, I find Fon's change even odder," Skull said.

Colonnello blinked. "Fon hasn't changed at all."

In fact, it was the only reason why Colonnello hadn't thought everything in Namimori wasn't a crazy dream was the fact that Fon had remained constant.

"It only looks that way," Skull said. "It's like he became blunt, but more direct? Fon has always carried this tension in him and sure he looked serene and peaceful, but he always hiding razor sharp claws. He was always so passive, despite his power, constantly holding back.

"Here, Fon is relaxed. There's no tension, the claws have been retracted. But at the same time, he's less passive, less afraid to take action and more straightforward. The serenity he projects is more real and no longer a mask."

Colonnello felt his jaw slacken. "I… I had no idea you were this observant, kora."

Skull shrugged. "No one expects it."

Colonnello had no clue what to say about that.

"It's easy if you know where to look," Skull said, breaking the silence once more. "It's pretty clear that something about Namimori changed both Senpai and Fon. Tsuna is probably the cause, given how close they are to him. Plus, there's something special about Tsuna. It's... well it's probably harmonization, but it's just that gut feeling too. The same way it felt wrong for Ienari and his Guardians to be battling against the Varia, that lingering knowledge that it could have, should have been something else."

"Besides, except for you, Senpai and Fon are the two people I see the most. Lal is always busy, I have no clue where Viper and Verde are hiding and it's uncomfortable to be around Aria long. I have no reason to go back to the mafia, no real ties there and I'm curious enough to want to stick around to see what is so special about Namimori and Tsuna that both Senpai and Fon are willing to leave the mafia behind," Skull said quietly.

That was the most damning thing of all. Reborn, who the epitome of the underworld, who lived and breathe in that darkness, who lived for the thrill of a hit, who was the World's Strongest Hitman for good reason, was willing to leave that life behind for this… small quaint town on the other side of the world. The same went for Fon. Both were willing to leave the life where they thrived, where their skills shone like stars for this town… for Tsuna.

"You've given this a lot of thought, kora," Colonnello said.

Skull merely shrugged. "I like Tsuna as a person. The rest of fell into place when I started paying attention to it. What are you planning on doing?"

Colonnello's skin itched. It was… He hated to leave an unsolved mystery behind. Plus, well, Lal was his only connection to the mafia these days and she, like Skull had said, was so busy that he didn't even see her often. Before Reborn called him, he had been doing a job at Mafia Land and you didn't get any more neutral than that.

He always felt a little like an odd man out. He wasn't originally  _chosen_. He just managed to swap places with Lal who deserved to be acknowledged as the Rain Arcobaleno. He didn't regret swapping with her, only regretting the pain and lack of acknowledge of her skills it had caused.

"I don't know," Colonnello admitted. "It isn't like I have to go back either. Lal is the only one I keep regular contact with and like you said, she's always busy."

"If you're feeling lost, I don't see why you can't stay either. Tsuna and his friends aren't the type to turn you away," Skull said.

That didn't sound like a bad idea. Some time off to refocus and find a new direction might be what Colonnello needed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Omelets**

"Excellent job, Bianchi!" Nana praised with a smile. "These omelets taste wonderful!"

Bianchi beamed, head bowing to hide her blush. Her practices to separate her storm aspect from her cooking was proceeding beyond her expectations. Nana had been exceedingly patience with her as well, helping her step by step with new recipes.

"Thank you for teaching me,  _Mamma_ ," Bianchi said with a small smile.

"It is me who should be thanking you," Nana said, taking another bite. "Ayame is helpless in the kitchen and Tsuna lacks the passion. I'm so happy that at least one of my children wants to learn my recipes."

Bianchi felt her heart skip a beat. Despite the fact that she called her  _Mamma_ , Bianchi had no idea that Nana considered her to be one of her children.

"Do you want to learn how do tamagoyaki?" Nana asked, eyes sparkling.

Bianchi nodded enthusiastically, walking on cloud nine.

Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Naptime**

Fon let out a small huff before smiling. When he had decided to seek out his nephew this morning, he hasn't expected to find him napping on the rooftop. (Though, it was a common enough pastime for Kyoya.)

Hopping over to Kyoya's side (and already aware that he most likely awake), Fon settled down next to his nephew. It was a fine morning for a nap.

Their spar could wait until later.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Decision**

"Italy?" Hachirou asked. "Cool. I got nothing against it." All of Ienari's Guardians were gathered in his hospital room, each one in various states of healing. Ienari had filled them in on what Reborn had told him yesterday and what were the options that were laid out before them.

"We still need to get stronger," Hisen commented. "We had a hard time against the Varia. Unacceptable."

"You're all okay with moving to Italy just like that?" Ienari said, surprised.

"It will be beneficial," Hideki said.

"I'll go wherever you go, Ienari-kun!" Kaori cooed.

Well, if everyone else was okay with it, Ienari could see himself moving to Italy.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Panic**

The second his phone rang, Koumei felt a headache start and the feeling of dread wash over him. He ruthlessly suppressed it. He was a Hibari. Hibaris didn't run away from anything.

"Omnivore," he greeted.

"I think I have a boyfriend."

Koumei would deny to his dying day that he felt absolute panic when he heard that. That was… That was arguably the worse thing he ever heard.

"Don't ask. It happened yesterday," Ayame said on the other side of the phone. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Who," Koumei demanded. Perhaps his father was willing to do him a favor. Or any of the Hibari relatives that specialized in assassination.

"Dino Cavallone," Ayame said wearily.

Alarm bells went off in Koumei's head. "Omnivore!"

"I know," Ayame said. "He's apparently considering relocating his entire famiglia here and turning mostly legal."

The paperwork alone! "You-"

"I am very serious," Ayame interrupted. "This is just a heads up. I… we're still talking about it."

Koumei snarled into the phone. "Impossible child," he growled.

Ayame went silent on the other side, just long enough for Koumei to check that she hadn't hung up on him.

"Do you think you could have ever moved on from Yun?" Ayame asked, whispered so softly that Koumei had to strain his ears to hear it.

His blood ran cold. "No," he snapped, hanging up.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Agreeing to come back to this job was the worst thing he had ever done.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Call Me Home**

"Tsuna!"

Tsuna turned and smiled, waving as Skull and Colonnello ran towards him. With ease, Skull leapt up and Tsuna caught him.

"How are you two today?" Tsuna asked.

Skull tilted his head. "I'm thinking of staying in Namimori. With you."

Oh.  _Oh_. Tsuna blinked, feeling the hum of harmonization, deep plunge into an ocean. Contrary to belief, Tsuna didn't actually know who he was calling home with his Sky Flames. Hyper Intuition nudged him in the right direction; a subconscious instinct Tsuna always followed without really knowing, but it was always a surprise, a carefully slotted piece that snapped into place. It usually followed a decision, whether verbal or mental which made Tsuna happy because he never wanted to force anyone to stay.

It was different from the other side, according to the others. Sometimes it was subtle, creeping in a way that there was no difference from the before and after, just the acknowledgement. Other times it was quick, so fast it was overwhelming, like drowning in water.

"That felt different," Skull remarked mildly. "Much different from Luce."

Tsuna hadn't even know that Skull had been considering it. He beamed, welcoming another Element home.

"I've been told it feels different," Tsuna said sheepishly.

He looked at Colonnello who had been quietly watching them.

"Will you be staying as well, Colonnello?" Tsuna asked.

Colonnello tilted his head. "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, as long as it's your choice," Tsuna said.

Colonnello gave him a suspicious look. "That's it? You don't want me, us, around because we're the Arcobaleno? You've already collected Reborn, Fon and Skull. With me, you'll be halfway to a full a set."

Tsuna shook his head. "No, that doesn't matter. I hadn't even known that Fon looks up to me as Sky until he had mentioned it."

Colonnello frowned. "I don't know if I can call you my Sky."

Tsuna smiled gently at him. "You don't have to. But, regardless, you are always welcome here because you're my friend, Colonnello."

Colonnello stared at him, stunned. Tsuna merely stretched his smile wider, feeling the soft harmonization singing in the background, weaker and not fully acknowledged like Skull's. That was fine. It was always going to be Colonnello's decision.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Real Deal**

"He's the real deal, isn't he?" Colonnello asked later as he and Skull walked back home.

Skull smirked. "I would say so," he said.

"W-wipe that look off your face!" Colonnello protested. So maybe Skull had a point. Tsuna was really nice, and it was really easy to call him his Sky. Colonnello liked to think he had good instincts and a good judge of character. Tsuna was genuinely that nice and it was good to have it confirmed that he didn't want Colonnello around just because he was strong.

It was nice to be welcomed somewhere just for the sake of being welcomed, because he was wanted as a person.

Because he was a friend.

Colonnello didn't have many friends. Any he had from before the Arcobaleno Curse had been cut out of his life, leaving only the other Arcobaleno to fall on. But they were a volatile bunch as Skull had put it. He also didn't know most of them well, having only tagged along with Lal. But then Lal found her way to the CEDEF and well…

It was lonely, to say. He loved Lal, he really did, but at the same time, she clearly didn't want to deal with him.

This was a chance to start over, to stay somewhere he would be welcomed. He could see the appeal, it was no wonder Reborn and Fon decided to stay. He hadn't expected Tsuna to just… offer him a smile and tell him he was always welcomed here.

He felt something click, the subtle probing of a Sky's harmonization.

"I guess," Colonnello grumbled good naturedly, "I could call Tsuna my Sky too."

Skull laughed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Prowling**

Xanxus quickly hit the streets once he was released from the hospital. He stalked them up and down, in search of that trash. Xanxus had no Hyper Intuition to guide him, but his instincts were still top notched. He didn't know how, didn't know why but his gut told him that there was something going on and that fucking trash he had met was the one who knew.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the same boy with blue hair. Xanxus snarled, sensing something that felt like Mist Flames, an illusion just like he thought. He stalked over, grabbing the kid by the collar.

"Fucking trash, what the hell are you playing at?" Xanxus snapped. "Is this some kind of joke? You don't show any of this of this power during the Ring Battle. Are you mocking the Varia?!"

The kid choked, utterly caught off guard by Xanxus' appearance. "Not Ienari," the kid said.

Xanxus whipped out his gun, cocking it at the kid's forehead. "Don't fuck with me!" he snarled.

There was a flash of gold and Xanxus felt his gun knocked out of his hands. He stared down as the illusion faded away, orange eyes gleaming up at him with a deep-seated rage.

"I am NOT Ienari," the kid snapped.

The penny dropped. "Twins," Xanxus growled with realization. They were fucking twins. How did he not know that? Why the hell was this twin never a contender?

Standing before him was a dangerous beast. Someone worthy of being Vongola, the deep overwhelming intensity of Sky Flames. Someone with orange colored eyes, the mark of Hyper Intuition. Why did he face the fucking trash in the Ring Battle?

Blood pounding and anticipation building, he reached for his gun before another flash of gold stopped him. This time the edge of the sword rested against his throat. "Don't," the kid warned; his orange eyes gleaming with the promise of violence. "I want nothing to do with Vongola.  **Leave me** _ **alone**_."

Xanxus faltered, feeling crushed under the intense pressure of the Sky Flames that forced him to bow, forced him to concede defeat. Staggering, Xanxus tried to push back, only to buckle under the weight. He had never felt Sky Flames this heavy before.

As suddenly as the onset of pressure, it faded. He looked up, snarling as the kid had vanished on him.

Xanxus pulled out his phone, dialing Mammon's number. "The fucking scumbag has a twin brother. I want to know everything about the twin."

This was not fucking over. He wasn't going to let this mystery slip from his hands.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Shaken**

"So, Xanxus," Ayame said.

Tsuna was hunched next to her, leaning against her side. "Yes," he said miserably.

"I supposed we could always kill him," Ayame said mildly.

Tsuna made a noncommittal noise, trembling slightly. Ayame couldn't blame him. This little slip up could undo everything they had been planning on. The only consolation was that she was fairly certain the Ienari being confirmed as Decimo couldn't be so easily overturned.

She was immensely proud that Tsuna stood up for himself though, regardless of how many plans it shattered in the process.

"Dino-nii?" Tsuna asked.

Ayame let out a bitter laugh, hands shaking. "Well I haven't killed him yet," she said. What was she thinking? There was so much left to do.

Tsuna leaned closer. Ayame closed her eyes.

What a broken pair they made.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Mother and Son**

Nana hummed as she helped Ienari packed. It had been nearly a week and a half since the Ring Battle. Ienari had been released two days ago, timidly coming home with a request to move to Italy with Iemitsu. A weak excuse, given she knew exactly why Ienari was going.

Still, she didn't call Ienari or Iemitsu on it. She nodded along with the excuse that Ienari fed her, even smiled at Timoteo, the man responsible for stealing one of her sons away, for causing her family so much heartbreak. She listened to Iemitsu reassure her over the phone and continue to make empty promises to her.

No one noticed.

Well, no one from Vongola, even Ienari who should have gotten a clue from the conversation they had, noticed. Bianchi always trailed nearby, her presence a mere warning. Reborn was always within eyesight. Unseen to most, Meishi lingered on Nana's shoulder, fussing over Nana's hair, constantly preening her. Tsuna gave her constant worried looks. The rest of the children noticed something was off. Nana had even caught Ayame lurking, dangerously close.

She had good children.

Even Ienari was the odd one out.

"Kaasan," Ienari said warily. "You sure you don't want to come to Italy?"

Nana shook her head. "No, Nari-kun. I do not."

"But… you're not gonna be safe," Ienari said.

Silly boy. She never understood where this concept that she was in danger came from. Especially since, according to Ayame, Ienari meant she was in danger from Tsuna.

Instead, Nana drew Ienari in for a hug, pouring as much love as she could, hoping that no matter how all this went, that a part of her son remained that sweet little boy who use to adore his twin brother to the sun and back.

"Be careful, Nari-kun," she said. There was no turning back at this point. Everyone, even her, had made their decisions and choices. It was just a matter of living with the consequences now.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**At the Airport**

Ienari tightened his grip on his backpack. This was it. The flight to Italy was leaving in an hour.

"Nari-kun."

Ienari turned, sneering. "What are you doing here, Dame-Tsuna?"

He choked as the feeling of drowning began to overwhelm him. He struggled to breath, gasping and staggering. His backpack slipped off, falling to the ground with a thump. His knees gave out, hitting the ground.

It stretched for what felt like hours before it vanished, something softer, warmer, safer replacing it.

Ienari raised his head, sweat rolling down his face to see Tsuna offering his hand out. He snarled at the look of concern in Tsuna's eyes. "Be careful, Ienari," Tsuna said.

Slapping Tsuna's hand away, Ienari scooped up his backpack and fled. Desperately trying to put any sort of distance between them, Ienari ran into a bathroom. He dry heaved over a sink, struggling to breath.

Eventually, his breath even out, his heart calmed down. Ienari turned on the water, splashing his face. Just who did Dame-Tsuna think he was?

He grabbed a paper towel and wiped his face. As he brought down the towel down from his face, he caught a flash of a smirk. A finger poked his forehead before his world turn to black.

The last thing he heard was a soft voice whispering a heavy command.

"You shall not consciously think of your twin brother, Tsunayoshi. You will know that you have a brother, but his existence is not important to you. With this geas I bind your thoughts."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Skyline**

Tsuna never thought he could breathe so easily before. It had only been two days since Ienari had gone to Italy and Tsuna could feel the tension leaving him. He hadn't realized how often he had looked over his shoulder when Ienari could potentially be found.

He felt horrible for feeling like that.

(But it was the truth.)

"So," Shamal asked, looking around the full room. The entire living room was packed, filled to the brim with so many people, that they had run out of seats. "Why exactly are we here?"

Tsuna had called everyone over. Nana was in the kitchen with Bianchi and all the kids. Fuuta had grabbed Ken, Chikusa and Lancia, pulling them in. The four Arcobaleno were in deep discussion, Dino listening in. The rest of his friends were shattered about. Hayato was rolling his eyes at something Takeshi was saying. Kyoya in the corner, dozing lightly as Mukuro looking uncomfortable surrounded by the girls. Spanner and Shoichi were babbling to Ryohei about something; Shoichi animatedly waving his arms.

He took a brief moment to just… simmer in the Flames that filled the room. He had never thought he would have ever felt so many people with Flames gathered in one place.

(And he was secretly thrilled that each and every person here was  _his_.)

"Neesan wants to meets us at her office," Tsuna said beaming.

"We get to see where she works?" Fon asked, surprised.

Tsuna chuckled, knowing that Ayame had purposely kept her job a secret. In fact, he didn't think anyone outside of his five original friends, Shoichi and Spanner knew. Reborn was definitely didn't know and Hayato hadn't figured it out.

"Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting," Hana said with her arms crossed. "Your room, right?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Why are we going to your room?" Mukuro asked with narrowed eyes.

Tsuna merely ushered everyone else to his bedroom door. He grinned slightly as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"... Hahi this isn't your bedroom," Haru said with wide eyes.

Reborn hopped into the room, stepping on the lush dark grey carpet and over to the four large windows that framed the wall.

"This is Tokyo's Skyline," Reborn said, a touch of disbelief slipping into his tone. In the distance, Sky Tree loomed, one of Tokyo's signature building, gleaming under the bright morning sun.

"How did we get from Namimori to Tokyo?" Shamal asked.

Dino wandered over to another wall, staring up at the full-size portrait of a young man with blond hair and grey eyes. "Who is this?"

Hayato drifted over to the logo painted next to the picture, touching the round circle with a stylish K. "Wait, I know this logo," Hayato said.

Everyone turned to look at Tsuna. Tsuna merely grinned, gesturing to the large wooden desk against the last wall. Its large seat facing its back to them. The seat slowly turned around, revealing Ayame. She folded her hands, placing them on her lap, legs crossed. A wide smile spread across her face.

"Welcome," Ayame said cheerfully. "Please allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Ayumu Ayame, CEO of Kinga Corporation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha how many of you saw that coming? There were a good number of people who guessed that.
> 
> Dino and Ayame take that leap of faith, that twisting turning road of love. They'll probably hurt each other, but what's love without a little risk? Ienari is gone to Italy (and has exited from the fic for the seeable future, beyond being mentioned.)
> 
> So let's see the first wave of consequences from everyone's choices.
> 
>  **See you in a month**.
> 
> **General Notes**
> 
> See Chapter 1 and Chapter 9 for "If you're sad, don't be afraid to show it. Don't smile that false smile, it's okay to cry. Just remember that you're never alone" line  
> See Chapter 26 Red Roses for the first time Dino and Ayame talked about triggers  
> See Chapter 28 for Fate Strings Conversation  
> See Chapter 30 Making Friends for the first time Skull remarked that Tsuna and Luce feel alike  
> See Chapter 31 Ice Cream Fun Times for the illusion that Tsuna was wearing when he met Xanxus  
> See Chapter 4 Wait Patiently for the first mention of Ayumu.  
> Hilariously, if you know where to look, Bianchi and Gokudera have the same reaction about coming to Namimori. Best idea ever.  
> The stylish K Logo is everywhere, on cups, letterheads and other places.  
> Likewise, Kinga Corporation mentioned throughout the entire fic.
> 
>   **Please leave a review on your way out.**


	35. Moment of Truth Arc: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian  
> Mochida Kensuke* - Hisen's cousin, captain of kendo club. Storm Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.  
> Sawada Hidetada - Giotto's son. Twin to Yoshimune  
> Sawada Yoshimune* - Giotto's son. Twin to Hidetada
> 
> * - canon character

**Kinga Corporation**

Reborn's brain was about to burst. After all this time, Ayame had just offered up her full name and job after hiding it from him for the last year and she said it in such a causal manner, as if it was common knowledge.

Then to top it off, she was apart of  _ **Kinga**_.

"Wait," Dino said. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and bewilderment. "Wait, Kinga?" he asked, voice breaking a little. "As in the international powerhouse, worth over a trillion yen, millions of patents, arguably the driving force of innovation in the technological world. So much so that people are actually worried that Kinga will eventually own and control the entire world's economy at the rate they're progressing. That  _Kinga_?"

Ayame's smile was smug. "Yes Dino. That Kinga," she said, crossing her arms.

Reborn refused to rub his throbbing head in front of all these people. No wonder they weren't worried about Vongola. It didn't matter how legal they were; the fact of it was simple, Kinga was huge. They were everywhere, from markets to toy lines to technology innovations to construction. There wasn't a business revenue that they hadn't touched. No, wait, that wasn't true. The only thing Kinga didn't deal in was weapons.

Still, their common workforce alone, outnumbered Vongola and its allies easily over a 1000 times. The money Vongola made in comparison was chump change, pennies compared to the profit that Kinga brought it. You couldn't walk down a street these days without running into a Kinga owned store. They were  _everywhere_.

That didn't even cover all their subsidiaries. Dino was right. Experts were already forecasting that if Kinga kept up its trends, it would be the controlling international corporation within the next ten years.

Even though they were a legal company with no connection to the Italian Mafia, it didn't change the fact that they had the power, money and technology to back up whatever they want… and  _Ayame_  was the one sitting on top of all that.

"How? I thought you were a doctor?" Shamal asked.

"I am," Ayame said. "I do have a medical degree and am a licensed doctor. The perks of being a genius means I have multiple degrees. But to answer your first question, I inherited Kinga about six years ago."

That… didn't quite line up from what Reborn knew. Kinga started its crazy expansion nearly eleven years ago, maybe even earlier, it was too hard to pinpoint the exact moment where they went from doing good to doing great. That meant Ayame wasn't the original point of origin. Which if her age was to be supposed to be correct, would make sense.

Did that mean she was just continuing someone else's legacy?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Solar Panels**

"I know this logo," Hayato blurted out. He pointed to the stylish K painted on the wall. "You own the building I live in!"

"Hmm yes," Ayame said. "It was a good investment. I hope the renovations were good?"

"It's like a five-star hotel, except I'm paying only enough rent for a motel," Hayato said, looking at her bewildered. "Did you just give me a lower rent?"

Ayame shook her head. "No, besides if I was to charge a five-star hotel rate, you could afford it." She pulled out a folder from her drawer and handed it over to Hayato. "We had to set up a bank account for you."

Hayato flipped open the folder, staggering at the numbers inside. "What is this?"

"Your portion of your cut from the profits as the creator and designer of Kinga's newest Solar Panel line," Ayame said mildly.

"I haven't designed any solar panels," Hayato protested.

"You have," Ayame said, amused. "Tsuna explained to me your idea regarding how to improve solar panels. You gave him detailed diagrams and I went ahead and approved it for prototyping. Upon their success, we set aside a portion of the profits that would go to you. If you check the folder you will also find the patent filed under your name regarding these solar panels."

Hayato quickly checked and yes there was a patent filled out in his name. He dimly remembered several months ago when Tsuna had asked him to explain solar panels to him. Hayato had gotten wrapped up in the explanation, detailing the flaws and improvements that could be made. He hadn't thought anything would have ever come from it.

Tsuna smiled weakly at Hayato. "I hope you don't mind?" he said nervously. "It's just, you were so passionate when you were explaining it to me that I thought it would be better to see it come to fruition."

Did he mind? Hell no. No one ever had any faith in Hayato's ideas before. Not enough to go ahead and make a prototype and sell it.

"This is amazing, Tsuna-sama," Hayato said with pure wonder in his voice.

Tsuna shook his head. "No, you're the amazing one, Hayato. All I did was show it to Neesan. You're the one who designed it."

"It's a very good design," Ayame said. "You should visit the labs with Shoichi and Spanner. They've been making some interesting things."

"It would be nice to have another person around," Shoichi said, nodding.

Spanner drawled. "We could always use an extra brain. The labs big enough."

"There are labs?" Hayato asked.

Shoichi pushed up his glasses, bubbling with excitement. "Yes! About 70 percent of this building is dedicated to Research and Development. We've been coming here after class every day."

Hayato rocked on his heels. Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Value of an Education**

"Speaking of that," Reborn cut in, "how exactly did we get from Namimori to here?" Namimori and Tokyo were relatively close, but not so close that they could have stepped through a door (never mind that said door was Tsuna's bedroom door) to arrive in the city.

"What do you think?" Ayame asked loftily with a wave her hand.

"This is your spiritual ability," Reborn stated. She never did explain what her ability was. "Teleportation?"

"Portals to be more specific," Ayame said. "To anywhere in the world."

The  _pancakes_. There wasn't anyone who slipped into the kitchen without Reborn noticing. It was Ayame using her abilities to warp her plate to her. This was how she always managed to sneak behind him without him knowing. That was infuriating.

"So, what do you want to talk to us about?" Hana asked.

Ayame's smile grew a fraction wider. "I figured it would be good to update everyone at the same time." She pulled out several folders from her drawer. "I'll start with the easiest one. I've enrolled all the kids into Kinga Middle School and I'm not taking no for an answer. Even you, Kyoya."

Kyoya growled.

Ayame waved it off. "I know you like Namimori Middle, but now that Ienari and Vongola aren't looking closely at Namimori, I don't want any of you to stay another day in Namimori Middle. The bullies, the teachers, you're not learning anything there."

That, Reborn would agree wholeheartedly with. The teachers at Namimori Middle, especially Nezu-sensei, were terrible. The bullies, while most of them had backed off, were still influenced by Ienari's aggression miasma and still maintained their hostile nature. Yes, Reborn agreed. If there was a choice, he would not send Tsuna back to Namimori Middle. And where Tsuna went, the others followed.

"The only exceptions are Shoichi and Haru who are both still enrolled into reputable good schools that don't suffer any issues," Ayame said. "Also, Shamal if you want to continue being the school's doctor, it's easy enough to get you accepted into the position at a Kinga School. Otherwise, tell me if you want to set up your own practice, work at Namimori Hospital or elsewhere and I'll arrange it."

Shamal stared at her, jaw slacked. "But…"

"You don't have to actually work for Kinga, or any of our subsidiaries," Ayame said. "It's just easier because I can write a letter of recommendation, show them your resume and if that isn't enough, I can order them to hire you. The fact that you are, were, an assassin for hire stays in this room. It's a little trickier if you want to work anywhere else though."

Shamal just continued to stare at her as if she had grown a second head. "I'll… get back to you," Shamal said weakly.

"I'm okay with moving schools," Tsuna said nervously, looking over at Kyoya. "I… really don't care as long as I'm with you guys, but…"

Takeshi laughed, placing his hands behind his head. "I'm okay with it too. Anything to keep Tsuna away from his bullies."

"It doesn't matter to me," Mukuro said.

"I don't mind transferring. I've been reading what Kinga School has to offer, and I actually wanted to go get in there for High School," Shoichi said.

"Same here," Haru chirped.

"Should I enroll too?" Spanner asked.

"It's up to you," Ayame said. "You technically have already graduated back in Italy. You don't need it."

Everyone looked at Kyoya, waiting on his response.

Kyoya huffed irritated, but didn't disagree.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Filing Papers**

"Well, if that's decided, everyone will start after summer vacation ends. It's the middle of the school year, but I think it will be fine," Ayame said. She shuffled the papers and handed over a folder to Nana. "This is a three-part section. First, while Namimori Elementary isn't as bad as Namimori Middle, I-pin, Fuuta and Lambo also have offers to transfer over to Kinga."

The three kids cheered. Nana felt happiness fill her heart. This was wonderful. She had worried over Tsuna remaining at Namimori Middle. But transferring Tsuna and not Ienari was an explosion waiting to happen and as long as Ienari was around, the pattern of bullying was bound to increase. Ayame had mentioned time and time again how she couldn't directly influence the school much to her frustration, until she set out to build her own private school, which unfortunately had run into multiple problems.

At least this way, Tsuna would be safe from his own bullies and hopefully with much better teachers as Ayame inflicted her high expectations of quality on everything, including the newly made Kinga School.

The fact that Ayame made it also possible for the rest of her children to attend was the cherry on top. This way they were bound to get an excellent education.

Ayame hesitated for a brief second, looking over at Nana. "The second… the second is adoption papers for I-pin, Fuuta, Lambo and Bianchi, if they want it."

"...What?" Bianchi said faintly. Her head snapped back and forth between Nana and Ayame.

Nana clutched the folder tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you," Nana said fervently. She had asked Ayame once, what it would take to adopt them all to make it official so that no one could ever take them from her.

Fuuta, I-pin and Lambo hugged her in an instant, never even doubting it.

"You want me as your daughter?" Bianchi asked softly.

Nana nodded. She adored all these children (except Tsuyoshi and Koumei might fight her for Takeshi and Kyoya). But she especially wanted to make sure that Bianchi never doubted that she was welcomed, that no one could take Fuuta, Lambo and I-pin from her.

"A copy for Hayato is also in there, but it's a little different for him due to the legal emancipation. It's mostly the equivalent of just adding him to the family registry," Ayame added.

"But," Hayato started. He didn't get to finish before Nana wrapped him in a tight hug. He blushed a bright red at the obvious affection.

Hayato was the other one that Nana worried about. The rest of the children had someone to rely on in some form. Takeshi still had his father. Kyoko and Ryohei had each other. Even Mukuro had Ayame to lean on. Hayato didn't have any one.

"What about you, Ayame-nee?" Fuuta asked.

"It's a little difficult for me," Ayame said. "But well, look at the last page, Nana."

Nana flipped open the folder, looking at the last page. She drew in a sharp breath. There in the folder was divorce papers.

"How?" Nana asked.

Ayame blinked. "I have access to the best lawyers in the world," she said amused. "Even though he has yet to be arrested, we were able to get your marriage dissolved due to the amount of evidence gathered over the years, the fact that he is never here and the confirmation in the eyes of the law that yes, he is indeed a part of the CEDEF. If you want it gone, all you have to do is sign."

Ayame swiveled her chair away, not meeting Nana's eyes and looking at Tsuna. "And, after that, if everyone wants to, you can all transfer to my family registry."

Tsuna beat Nana to hugging Ayame. Fuuta, I-pin and Lambo all shared a look before jumping in on the pile.

Nana wiped away her tears. "Thank you, Ayame."

"Off, off," Ayame grumbled. Her chair creaked ominously under the weight. "That's the only way I can do it for me. People apparently threw a fit when I originally asked about it."

Then she turned and gave Fon a folder. "Then, while it isn't exactly recognizable due to your physical appearance, this is the paperwork for your co-guardianship of I-pin with Nana."

Fon reverently accepted the folder as I-pin darted forward to hug him. "I don't understand. Why do this?" Fon asked, stunned.

Ayame scrunched her nose. "It's a legal thing. It's official and on paperwork and when  _problems_ like the Triad happen, I can intervene without people yelling at me."

Nana frowned. "Why do they yell at you?"

Ayame shrugged. "I'm  _me_. They get nervous whenever I leave the country. It means a greater increase of chaos apparently. I have no idea what they're talking about."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Accounts**

"This is very touching and all," Mukuro said dryly. "But is there a point for the rest of us?"

Ayame waved a couple more folders. "Well, it's just a couple small things that apply to everyone here in the room." She stood, handing them out.

"Primarily for anyone in this room who is a minor, I've gone ahead and started several investments profiles, college funds and a few trust accounts," Ayame said. "And the lawyers are just out the door if you want to ask them any questions. If I don't do it, I'll find someone who will fill you in on everything you need to know about them." She snorted. "You'll never to worry about retirement."

"Hahi, all of us?" Haru asked, alarmed to several degrees.

"Isn't that a lot of money?" Kyoko asked.

"What else am I supposed to do with my money?" Ayame asked. "I've been told I've maxed out what I can donate to charities, all my patents and royalties pay for Shoichi, Spanner and my research. Despite taking care of Chrome, Mukuro, Ken, Chikusa and Lancia, I barely dent my salary. I own a good portion of land throughout numerous cities. I'm earning far more than I actually spend."

"You should save some of it for the future. You never know what can happen," Tsuyoshi said.

"I haven't even touched any of my inheritance," Ayame said dryly. "This was just my monthly salary." She handed him a folder. "By the way, I paid off your mortgage for your restaurant."

"Ayame!" Tsuyoshi said.

She waved him off. "Tsuna gets half of that inheritance when he comes of age too."

"I what?!" Tsuna yelped. "Neesan! Why am I getting half your inheritance?!"

She looked at him, surprised. "I could have sworn we had this conversation," she muttered softly. She cleared her throat, and said, "The half of that particular inheritance is Kinga. Namely, when you become of age, you gain half of the shares of Kinga, placing you on equal part of ownership of Kinga. What you do with that, is entirely up to you. Whether you want start working here in the future as one of the top tier management or to find someone else you trust to run your part of Kinga."

Tsuna gaped. "But why am I getting it?"

"It comes… highly recommended," Ayame said, looking disgruntled.

Tsuna scowled, wounded up and ready to fight. "But-"

"There's precedent," Ayame said softly.

Tsuna flinched, reeling back as if struck. His gaze dropped to the ground.

"Precedent for what?" Dino asked.

"Insanity," Ayame answered dryly.

"Sanity is overrated," Mukuro said.

Ayame blinked. "You know, Mukuro. Despite what you've been through, you're actually remarkably stable."

Mukuro quirked an eyebrow up, but Ayame merely ignored it. She distributed the rest of the folders. "Lancia if you want, this is a scholarship to attend college if you want a degree. And then you four, Mukuro, Lancia, Ken and Chikusa, here's your copy of all your new identities here in Japan. Don't get arrested again. If you do, talk to Tsuna about paying your bail."

Ayame turned to Skull and Colonnello. "I have nothing for you two, but if you need a job, just ask. I'll find something."

She then pulled a box and dropped it into Dino's arms. "That-" she said flatly, "is one box of forty you need to fill out, if you're actually serious about being legal. If you don't care about legality and just want to displace the yazuka underground here, that's also fine. But I have every intention of keeping Kinga as clean as possible."

Ayame tilted her head. "I believe that's a good summary of everything as far as the paperwork and legality work goes. I do have a couple more tailored plans for those of you who expressed concrete ideas and dreams. Shoichi, Spanner, remind me I have your recommendation letters already written for whichever college you want to attend."

She grinned, ushering everyone back towards her office door. "I enjoy having you all here, but I unfortunately have a meeting soon, so I'm going to have to throw you all out. Take a seat when you get back to Namimori, let it sink in and try not to freak out too much, okay?"

Everyone stumbled out the door into the Sawada house's living room, still in various degrees of shock and surprise.

Eventually Tsuna broke the silence, cradling his head in his hands. "Neesan," he moaned.

The rest of the room murmured in agreement.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Meeting**

Timoteo hummed as he unlocked the door to his office. He let out a weary but happy sigh. It was good to be back home. He opened the door and stepped inside…

Into a room was clearly wasn't his office.

Gone was the traditional design with dark curtains and lush carpet. Instead, all he saw was the sleek lines of shiny chrome, white walls and a view overlooking a lush green mountain. "Where-?" Timoteo.

The door slammed shut behind him, locking him inside.

"Welcome."

He swallowed thickly, turning. At the end of the room, sitting on a white throne was a young woman with her legs crossed, cheek resting against her hand. A black hood shadowed her face. A silver crest pinned to the black material. His eyes strayed upwards, to the emblem painted on the wall behind the throne, the same emblem pinned to the woman's chest.

Timoteo staggered. "The Shadow Court," he whispered.

The woman's smile was razor sharp, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Correct," she said. "Hello Vongola Nono. We have much to discuss."

A cold sweat down his spine, but he kept his expression even and leveled. "What do I owe the honor?" he asked. There was no mistake, this was most likely the Shadow Queen.

"Hmm," Queen hummed. "Normally I wouldn't have bothered with a personal call. But I have found over the years that sometimes a direct approach works the best. I will make this simple and clear. You, and by extension all of Vongola and its allies, will have absolutely nothing to do with Sawada Tsunayoshi and those under his protection."

Timoteo gripped his cane. "Tsunayoshi-kun-"

The pressure doubled and Timoteo stumbled, struggling to remain upright.

"I'm sorry. Did I give you the impression that you had a choice?" Queen mocked.

"It's very simple. You will not bother Sawada Tsunayoshi, you will not stalk him, involve him in the mafia. You've taken your heir. Sawada Tsunayoshi is closed to you. You will not approach him, those he cares about, in fact you will carry on with your life as if you didn't know he existed."

"You can't-" Timoteo said. He stopped as the feeling of chains wrapped around him, restricting him.

"I can," Queen said, clearly amused. "That's the beauty of this geas. And as you are Vongola Nono, it has the extra effect of applying to all of Vongola."

A list of names materialized in front of Timoteo. Most he didn't recognize, but the few he did, Tsunayoshi at the top, followed by Reborn of all people.

"A small list of people whom Vongola cannot touch," Queen said in a bored tone. The list disappeared in a flash of fire. "Of course, you won't be able to speak of any of this once you leave this room." Her smile grew dangerous once more. "Failure results in the destruction of Vongola."

"But-" Timoteo said, words choking in his throat.

Queen smiled. "Goodbye Vongola Nono."

Timoteo was flung out the room. He stumbled backwards, back in his office once more and mind spinning. He blanched, knowing there was no way he would ever know, no way that anyone would ever know.

Just what did the Shadow Court want with Tsunayoshi?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Red Moon**

In the silence of Tsunayoshi's room, Reborn allowed himself a moment to sigh. Today's events still rattled in his head. It was difficult to regain his balance and not be swept away by the undertow.

Despite the alarming amount of revelations hurled his way, he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision to stay. He turned to look at Tsuna, slumbering away without any care.

He was going soft, feeling fond, warm and safe all at once. It wasn't that bad of a thing, he supposed. Not if the tradeoff was being here, with his Sky.

Reborn climbed up to Tsunayoshi's bed, ready curl up next to him, when the ground gave beneath him.

He fell, spiraling into a free fall. His center of gravity of shifted and he had seconds to realize that he was back in his adult body before the ground approach. Reborn twisted, rolling to the ground. Reflexes honed by years of experience, had him reaching for his gun, eyes surveying his surroundings.

It was an empty field, stretching as far as the eye could see. The sky was dark, pitch black without any stars hanging high above. Ominously, a red moon glowed, casting the area in a soft crimson light.

Reborn blinked as a dark figure dropped from the sky. A woman, with a black hood and a silver crest gleamed. His heart sputtered, recognizing the crest.

"The Shadow Court," he said.

He knew the stories, the dark rumors that the mafia only dared to whisper behind closed doors. There was very little information about them. Only everyone agreed wherever they went, the world shook in their presence. Nono had explained what little he could, his own theories. The reasoning why Ienari had gone to Vongola was because of the Shadow Court presence.

Reborn was confident in his abilities, knew his strength wasn't for show. He had bled and earned his title of World's Greatest Hitman. But everyone thought of the Shadow Court as a different monster all together, as if they weren't even human.

He had survived against a Yatagarasu. Would the experience be enough?

"Welcome," the woman said. She lifted her head, just enough for Reborn to see golden eyes gleaming beneath the dark hood.

Wait. He knew that voice. But... That was…

"Ayame?" Reborn said incredulously.

She pulled back her hood, her braided brown hair falling freely. Ayame smiled, secretive and sharp all at once. There was a flash of silver, seven orbs whirling around her.

"Don't hold back, Reborn- _san_ ," she said. "Show me what the World's Greatest Hitman can do."

She attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha so how many people figured Ayame was the Shadow Queen? There were a couple.
> 
> So now you know about Kinga! And all the paperwork has been squared away, for once everyone is on the same page.
> 
> **See you in a month!**
> 
> **General Notes**  
>  See Chapter 4 Wait Patiently for news article about Kinga being worth a trillion yen.
> 
> Kinga in general has been mentioned throughout the story. Notable examples:  
> See Chapter 5 Kyaaa and Chapter 30 Decimo Candidate for Kinga Market  
> See Chapter 27 Newspaper for Kinga Schools  
> See Chapter 8 Engrave Those Feelings for Kinga Bookstore  
> See Chapter 8 Moonstorm for setting up an orphanage  
> See Chapter 10 Renovation for Kinga Construction office  
> See Chapter 13 Letter for Hayato's building changing over to Kinga.  
> See Chapter 14 Solar for the solar panel conversation. See Chapter for solar panels being installed at the Sawada House.
> 
> Not sure if anyone noticed, but travel around Ayame is often warped. Unless forced to take the airplane (usually for business reasons), Ayame actually portals to just about everywhere. This is including how she was sneaking in and out of the Sawada Household without Reborn noticing. Also how she got Tsuna off the mountain and to the hospital in Namimori after Ienari had pushed him. Notable examples are  
> See Chapter 25 Spanner for when she jumped to Italy to pick up Spanner after Shoichi fainted on her  
> See Chapter 2 Missing Food for her taking the pancakes with her abilities without Reborn seeing her  
> See Chapter 25 Flustered for an example of how she comes and goes as she pleases in the Sawada Household


	36. Moment of Truth Arc: Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Ienari's Guardians:  
> Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian  
> Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes. Sun Guardian  
> Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian  
> Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian  
> Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian  
> Mochida Kensuke* - Hisen's cousin, captain of kendo club. Storm Guardian
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.  
> Sawada Hidetada - Giotto's son. Twin to Yoshimune  
> Sawada Yoshimune* - Giotto's son. Twin to Hidetada
> 
> * - canon character
> 
>  

**Overwhelming Might**

Reborn winced as he landed. His Sun Flames ablaze, healing the damage to his cracked femur. He heaved, wheezing slightly and pushing back the pain with practiced ease. Somewhere along the way, he had lost his jacket; his white shirt stained crimson red from an earlier hit.

Around him the field had turned into a battlefield. Deep trenches carved into the ground, patches of grass incinerated and ripped up. Smoke curled in the distance, the sparks of fire glowing ominously under the red moon.

His only consolation was that from across the field, Ayame looked just as bad. Her braid had come undone, brown hair falling loose. Blood was smeared across her cheek where Reborn had clipped her and he was sure she was hiding a broken rib.

Reborn would never tell her, but Ayame was good. Very good. He couldn't remember the last time someone really made him sweat in a fight. Definitely couldn't remember the last time someone had injured him so badly. If he didn't have Sun Flames, she would have overwhelmed him ages ago.

She was easily on par with the rest Arcobaleno. No… she probably surpassed them, even before the curse was inflicted on them. Ayame was fast, coupled with her portal spirit ability, she bounced all over the field, always slipping pass Reborn's guard. Her weapon was infuriating. Those seven orbs spun around her like lazy moons, free floating and capable of their own individual patterns.

They also shapeshifted. Reborn lost track, unsure if each orb was a different weapon or if they freely changed to whatever Ayame wanted. A whip, a gun, a sword, and more they flashed into existence like lightning and gone as soon as they struck, before Reborn could even register what she was using. She was probably hiding even more.

So this was the power of the Shadow Queen.

He had the advantage with his Sun Flames, healing the damages as he went. Sooner or later, the injuries would eventually slow her down, except…

"You're holding back," Reborn said tightly.

Ayame smiled cheekily at him. "Contrary to belief, I don't want to actually kill you."

Somehow, he highly doubted that. Reborn scowled.

That seemed to only amuse her further. "Didn't you learn anything the last time you were here?" Ayame challenged. "Your physical body is still back in Namimori. Your soul is the only thing here because you're dreamwalking. It's the reason why you're back into your adult body, because that's how you perceive yourself."

She waved her hand nonchalantly. "Souls are actually much easier to break than one would think. At the same time, they are very resilient. It's a balance."

"Besides," Ayame said, her gold eyes practically glowing. "You're holding back too, even if you don't realize it. The curse you're under, still weighs you're down. It's both a blessing and hinderance that you are without your physical body."

It didn't feel like that, but he wasn't about to show her his unease.

"Still, not bad," she said, mildly impressed. "There's room for improvement, but that's always the case, even I have room for improvement. I say we're about even matched, give or take."

This was evenly matched?

"It's the same difference between Kyoya and Kyoko," Ayame said, relaxing her stance. "You have more experience than me. No matter how strange my childhood was, I didn't spend it looking over my shoulder with a sword hanging over my head. No, your childhood and job as a hitman refined your skills in a way I'll probably never achieve.

"But," she said, sounding smug. "I hold way more power than you. I can't use it against you, because again, I don't actually want to kill you."

Reborn narrowed his eyes, scowling harder.

Ayame merely laughed at that and she snapped her fingers. The red moon shattered and the entire area melted away into a Japanese sitting room. She turned, hands reaching to redo her braid. "Still, it's good enough," she said, looking back at Reborn over her shoulder. "Welcome to the Shadow Court, Reborn- _san_."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "What?" Reborn demanded to know. What the hell did that mean? "I want answers, Ayame," he hissed.

She hummed, turning on the small stove to heat a teapot. Taking a seat down at the table, she gestured to the seat across from her. Reborn tensed, not wanting to let down his guard.

Finally, as the teapot whistled, Reborn conceded to sit down. Weariness was beginning to settle in his bones and Ayame had made no movement to attack him. He took a seat as Ayame poured two cups of tea.

"I find it easier to explain after I know what you know and what misconceptions I have to correct," Ayame said. "So why don't you start and tell me everything you know about the Shadow Court."

Reborn scowled darkly, knowing this game of information all too well. Like all the other times they had sat down for exchanging of information, she wouldn't budge until Reborn told her what he knew.

"There are only stories about the Shadow Court," Reborn said. "No one is even sure they exist and if they do, they must be monsters." Considering the mafia contained a wide myriad of monsters and used rainbow colored flames, it spoke quite a bit of the fear they felt when it came to the Shadow Court.

"Nono provided the most solid explanation beyond ghosts and rumors," Reborn said. "Things he had learned from his mother, Vongola Ottavo who was a member herself.

"The creed of the Shadow Court is 'Too dangerous to live, too valuable to kill.' There are two parts of the Shadow Court, Active and Inactive. Nono had his theories as to what was the criteria for how to get into which part."

"But the one thing everyone can agree upon, is that the Shadow Court is overwhelming powerful. Anything that draws their attentions is destroyed without any warning, a strike from the shadows. The Shadow Court, a court of rulers, of world shakers who strike from within the shadows," Reborn finished flatly.

"Not completely right, but not completely wrong either," Ayame said. "Not surprising, and ever since I had joined, it had changed quite a bit.

"Well, let's start with the history lesson. True, the earliest incarnation of Shadow Court was created in the aftermath of World War I. It went by many different names, in many different governments. It was a simple list, divided in two: Active and Inactive. Active members were people who needed constant watching, their mere presence shifting and changing the world. Depending on whether they lived or died, what they said or didn't say, what they did and didn't do, they changed the world. This primarily consisted the world leaders, kings, queens, presidents, dictators, and mafia dons. No one wanted to be blinded sided by another assassination of a political leader."

"Inactives were merely those who had either retired or were up and coming potential Actives," Ayame said, sipping at her tea. "A small part of the Shadow Court is still this today. All Vongola Dons and Donnas are on the Active or Inactive list, merely by the fact that they are the leading power figure in the Italian Mafia. Depending on what they do and do not do, they can soak all of Italy in red if say a full out mafia war broke out."

She huffed, a wryly smile playing on her lips. "No one has bothered to tell me, but I'm willing to bet Kinga is also on that list."

"That would not be surprising," Reborn said dryly. So, Nono's information was merely outdated then? Not too surprising.

"World War II and the creation of the United Nations and Interpol gaining steam, saw the ratification of the official Shadow Court," Ayame said. She tilted her head. "It gets a little confusing here because multiple moving parts.

"First off was the discovery of supernatural abilities. No, discovery isn't quite the right term as supernatural abilities have been around since the beginning of time. But well, governments had become aware, more so, of the idea of say rainbow colored flames, gods and demons. They also realized that they had no way to combat against these abilities unless they used other users with the same abilities."

Reborn felt his stomach clenched. He had always assumed that Dying Will Flames was both the best and worst kept secret of the mafia. No self-respecting police officer would ever believe something as wildly fanatic as rainbow colored flames. So it continued to remain an open secret, without it really being a secret.

To have Ayame outright tell him that the Italian Government was not only aware, they probably knew as much as the weakest mafioso knew about Dying Will Flames. Then why had they not made a move?

"I would have to check. But I'm fairly certain that was why Vongola Ottavo was tapped," Ayame said.

Daniela's rein as Vongola Ottavo was… impressive to say the least. No one expected her to rule so well. Vongola's strength and size not only doubled, but she also led one of the bloodiest reins of Vongola, only surpassed by Vongola Terzo. Most passed it off as her living through the wars, but others saw how she consumed and destroyed some of the more troublesome mafia famiglia of that time.

Now, Reborn knew. Daniela was most likely carrying out orders as a member of the Shadow Court. Vongola's growing resources was probably her reward.

"Second was the threat of Hilter and how hard it was to stop him and his ideology. As a complete reverse of World War I, the governments found themselves in a situation as the war dragged on," Ayame continued. "They needed someone, not connected to a government, powerful enough to wipe out the threat and either contain or neutralize the resulting fallout."

"Not just limited to dictators either. Say if it's projected that the next leader of Vongola will incite that full out mafia war that the Italian Government is afraid of because they're bloodthirsty and power hungry. It's the Shadow Court's responsibly to… ensure Vongola remains in status quo, whether quietly arrange the death of the heir apparent and making sure there is another heir to step forward or if there is none, perhaps warp the personality of the heir apparent. The same goes for World Leaders."

Reborn stared at her, shock. "Nono's sons?" he asked.

"No. They were simply foolish," Ayame said. "But according to the records, Nono use to have an older sibling."

That was… It was like taking a hit, but on a much grander scale. The fallout too. Politicians, Reborn had no problem accepting those jobs. There was always going to be another politician. But World Leaders, Reborn was sure he could probably assassinate the prime minister, but the manhunt afterwards was never worth it, not to mention the turmoil the entire country would be thrown into.

"Third was a much more basic idea. On top of keeping an eye on the world and other supernatural communities, we were expected to keep an eye on each other. Should anyone go rogue, it was the Shadow Court's responsibility to hunt the traitor down."

"'Too dangerous to live, too valuable to kill.' The creed of the Shadow Court. Our abilities and perceived power made us dangerous and valuable," Ayame carefully recited.

"Every person with supernatural abilities is a Shadow Court member?" Reborn asked.

"No. In fact, most don't even know it exists. It's a delicate balance with the Shadow Court serving as the fulcrum. The idea is that governments know supernatural abilities exist, they're willing to leave them alone to be govern by others with the same ability. When that fails, they expect the Shadow Court to move in and neutralize the issue. Same, should anything 'drastic' need to happen, like a young dictator growing his power base, the governments hope to call upon the Shadow Court to take care of the issue," Ayame explained.

"If they don't know the Shadow Court exists, how do you enforce that?" Reborn asked.

"As far majority of the self-contained communities, their leaders are always read into the existence of the Shadow Court when they take up the mantle, whether it's by their predecessor or by a member of the government or Shadow Court. But, power spreads rumors and even if I'm not know as the Shadow Queen, there are many users who tremble at my name," Ayame said. "If you are wondering the Vindice serve as the ruling community for the Italian Mafia. Which is why they are the ones who lock up mafiosos instead of the normal Italian Government."

She finished off her cup of tea and poured herself another cup before topping off Reborn's rapidly cooling one.

"Also so you know, the United Nation is the one who makes the big requests, but the Shadow Court can always decline it. Likewise, Interpol is the Shadow Court's support as far the legal side with Hibari Koumei was our handler," Ayame explained.

"Now, while you can't request to join the Shadow Court, they do tend to look at family lines first and bring those who are already 'in the know' rather than reach out and tap someone new. Provided of course, their offspring's power and control remain the same or stronger than their parent. They're also incredibly nosey about personal lives and they got very nervous when my father married my mother."

Ayame paused, letting out a deep sigh. "My induction to the Shadow Court was… messy to put it lightly. It's a story for another time, but all the previous members were suddenly gone and I was left as the only member. I was… far from stable.

"So suddenly, I went from being a valuable resource to a quick threat and they had no one else who could control me," Ayame said bitterly. "Until they did. That was where King came into play."

"But King set a different precedent. While he knew about the supernatural world, he didn't have any supernatural abilities of his own. More importantly, he knew me and how to talk me out of some my crazier ideas. So he became my leash.

"It also opened the door to the idea of different types of powers, not just supernatural ones. King was a master with money. While my supernatural abilities are off the charts, so is my IQ. People say I herald the technological advancement we live in now. I disagree, but that is what they think."

"Admittedly, they're still afraid of me and I have a lot of leeway because of it. I do have a 'get out of jail' card in every country because they're too afraid of what I would do," Ayame said. "And I have free reign for the most part. That is the tradeoff. You get treated like a weapon, can be called into any situation, which can be declined but not - they are usually good about presenting a strong case-, and they are constantly checking into your life. In exchange, you're given absolute power, free rein in whatever you want to do, be it crimes or travel as long as it doesn't cross into taboo territories, such as harming innocent and are largely left alone."

"A gilded cage," Reborn said.

"Hard to see it when the cage is the entire world," Ayame said. "But a cage nevertheless. It is both a blessing and a curse."

Reborn frowned. It was not entirely surprising. In fact, it was probably on the same level of celebrities and world leaders just more intense. The entire world paid close attention to their private lives, but they in turn had the money and often were allowed to let go free just based on public opinion.

"Then, what do you mean welcome to the Shadow Court?" Reborn asked. He chafed under the idea of being caged like that.

"Because I'm going to go back and tell them you are an even match to me," Ayame said, amused. "They'll be happy with another leash."

"Except I'm not a leash to you," Reborn said, tone drier than a desert.

"Of course not," Ayame gleefully agreed. "But they don't need to know that. They think Tsuna is a leash, but the reality he is a trigger point. But again, they don't need to know that."

"Just like that, I'll become a member of the Shadow Court," Reborn said, still utterly skeptical of the idea.

Ayame continued to look more and more amused. "Just like that. It has the added bonus of wiping your criminal record clean. Drop the right information in front of the right people, and your exit of the mafia is one of the cleanest possible."

"What?"

"I'm saying the Vindice can't come after you for any crimes nor can any government," Ayame said. "Don't even have to fake your death."

That… was… hard to wrap his brain around. Reborn knew, knew it was probably possible given everything Ayame had told him and what he knew previously about the Shadow Court. But to have it all swept under the rug just like that?

"They probably won't give you a full title until realize how much you mean to Tsuna, but that's an issue to tackle in the future," Ayame said.

"What does that mean?" Reborn asked.

"Royalty titles, such as King and Queen are 'full titles' in the Shadow Court," Ayame said. "They are reserved for people who fulfill the creed of too dangerous to live, too valuable to kill. In a nutshell, they have the full abilities, the full power of the Shadow Court behind them. All the benefits and downfalls of the position.

"Below that is the secondary tier. They still possess titles, based off other things like animals, elements, such as Shadow Dragon. They are those who are powerful, but don't necessarily impact the world on the same scale as a full member. What most people tend to worry about is their impact on other Shadow Court members. Secondary Tier members tend to be people who are 'in the know', 'leashes' to the full members, and have the 'potential' to go to full membership.

"Below that is the protection tier. These are for the people the Shadow Court are fond of. Protection is extended to them and the quickest way to anger the Shadow Court is to target them. This tier is usually reserved for family members and close friends who have no abilities. They may or may not be aware of the Shadow Court.

"Last, but not least, is the support tier. Those who are 'in the know', possess little power and basically, yes just there to support. Hibari Koumei is considered to be a support member."

"So I fall into the second tier," Reborn said.

"Right now, if you die today, there would be no impact beyond Tsuna being upset," Ayame said with a wave of her hand. "People would mourn you, true, but world won't necessarily tremble with your passing. Well, unless that curse pacifier around your neck means something else."

She rested her chin in her hand, tilting her head slightly. "So yes, second tier. Which is fine with me, because I don't particularly want you to gain the title of King."

Reborn drew in a sharp breath. "You have always referred to King in past tense." If King was her leash… did that mean she had killed him? Or was it possible to have more than one King. He didn't think so.

He didn't miss the brief flash of grief across Ayame's face. Ah perhaps not.

"King is dead," Ayame answered.

"Titles originally were given based on how well you worked together. King and Queen of the past use to be people who were partners. Somewhere along the way it became known as those who were capable of taking each other out. Mortal enemies, though there are plenty who still follow the old system," Ayame explained. "I have no intention of letting anyone become King as long as I rein as Queen."

That, Reborn could relate to. It was no different than how he felt after Luce. But finding Tsuna… well perhaps Dino would be the one to take up King's mantle.

"I don't have a choice," Reborn said.

"You always have a choice," Ayame said. "You can remain on the protection tier."

But he wouldn't remain her equal. Well, he doubted as long as she was a full member and he wasn't, he wouldn't be her equal, but Reborn knew that the secondary tier offered more, more information, more power, better to protect Tsuna, better to not be kept out of the loop from Ayame. Though shackles and chains, a gilded cage was still a cage. He was trading the mafia for something just as dangerous.

"Vongola?" he asked.

"Struck the fear of the Shadow Court into Nono and placed a geas on him and Ienari," Ayame answered.

"What about the Arcobaleno Curse?"

"Tell me more about it and we'll see."

"And where does Tsuna and his friends fit into this?"

Ayame smiled sharply. "You always do ask all the right questions. The kids, even the few adults like Nana, are scattered across all over the tiers but most of them are in the protection tier."

"And Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

"What do you think?" Ayame asked.

Logic said that Tsuna was at most a secondary tier… but. "He's a full member," Reborn stated.

Ayame lifted her cup, hiding her smile. "Correct. Long live the Shadow Emperor."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Sweet Dreams**

Reborn woke with a start. He stared back down at his tiny hands and cursed body, the jarring displacement was no smoother than the first time.

A quick look at the clock revealed it hadn't even been more than ten minutes since he had supposedly vanished.

"Think about it, tell me your answer tomorrow."

Reborn twirled around, reaching for the knife he always carried. Ayame merely stared down at him, her gold eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Sweet dreams, Reborn-san," Ayame said. She smirked, before crawling into the empty space next to Tsuna.

Reborn twitched. He already knew she was going to take full advantage of her portal ability to pop out of nowhere from now on.

Plus, how did she expect him to sleep? After she dropped all that information on him? Reborn silently snarled and took a seat. He pulled out some paper and began jotting down his notes.

He had so much to think about.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**From these lips (fall gems)**

"Tsuna."

"Yes?"

"Shadow Emperor?"

Tsuna placed his pencil down, giving Reborn his full attention. The summer homework Reborn had been helping him had quickly been put aside. "You talked to Neesan," Tsuna stated.

Reborn nodded curtly. It had been a long year though, and Tsuna was finally beginning to pick up on the subtler cues. Reborn held an excellent poker face, but Namimori (and Tsuna assumed, Ayame) strained him in such a way, Tsuna was beginning to see the cracks. It was subtle, the slight twitch of a tense muscle in the neck, the way Reborn's lips formed a thin line, both a sign of how serious he was and to hide the clenched teeth.

"I didn't set out to become Shadow Emperor," Tsuna said. "In fact, I believe Neesan had every intention keeping me in the dark, on the protection tier for the rest of my life. That was most likely her original plan for dealing with Vongola."

He took a deep breath, memories swimming. "Someone took notice of her interest in me. Koumei-ojisan was sent to explain it to me and the plan… to make me a secondary tier member. I don't think Neesan has ever forgiven him for it," Tsuna said. "The Kyoto Spring Trip ensured it."

"Is that why none of you speak of it?" Reborn asked.

"Somewhat," Tsuna said with a shudder. "Mostly we really have agreed to never speak it. That was such a nightmare. We are banned from going back for a good reason. It's crazy, even by Namimori's standards."

"Then the transition to Shadow Emperor?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna was silent for a second. "The price of Mukuro's freedom," he said.

Reborn blinked.

Tsuna shrugged helplessly, a wry smile on his face. "Neesan made the push for it. I don't blame her for it, because I had asked for it. Shadow Emperor was the ultimatum they delivered back."

"...Does Mukuro know?" Reborn asked.

"No. I don't really plan on telling him," Tsuna said. "I am well aware of what I had gotten myself into. Don't tell Neesan, but I was originally planning on making that full transition eventually. Perhaps when I had earned the right."

"Why?" Reborn asked.

"Because I wanted to walk alongside her," Tsuna said with a fond smile. "I know you don't see eye to eye with her, but it's always an adventure with Neesan. She knows so much, but what she knows is just a tiny drop in a much bigger world. But it's hard to go that far without getting tangled in the Shadow Court; a simple side effect of knowing her.

"By placing Mukuro on the protection tier, Mukuro who was close to becoming a potential enemy that Shadow Court would have been asked to take out, I basically forced the UN to acknowledge me as Shadow Emperor. Or, as Neesan likes to say, they clued in that half the people on the protection tier were because of what I wanted and not so much Neesan who, while fond of all us, doesn't really care beyond… well me."

That had been another brutal and awkward conversation between him and Ayame a few years ago. Sure  _now_  she more or less attached to Kyoya, Takeshi, Hana, Ryohei and Kyoko, but it hadn't been like that when they first started hanging out with Tsuna. She tolerated Lambo, Fuuta and I-pin because of how much Nana and Tsuna adored them. A grudging truce was formed with Reborn because of Tsuna. Shoichi and Spanner may be the only two people who recently came into group that Ayame genuinely liked.

Many of Ayame's actions made much more sense when viewed from the standpoint that she only did it because of how much  _Tsuna_  valued the person. Nagi was brought to Namimori only because Ayame kept a close eye on her because of how she had bonded with  _Tsuna_  during the Kyoto Spring Trip. Hayato's rent went down specifically because he was friends with  _Tsuna_. She kept Mukuro and his friends close because  _Tsuna_  had asked her. She ensured that all the kids had transfers to Kinga because she knew  _Tsuna_  wanted to be with his friends.

Tsuna didn't know what he had done to earn it, but Ayame tolerated all of Tsuna's friends and requests because she liked him. In a different world, the only people Ayame might have tolerated would have been Kyoya, Hana, Shoichi, Spanner, Tsuyoshi and maybe Fon. Possibly Reborn too, as he didn't know why exactly Ayame didn't like Reborn. Which was strange, in his opinion. The two of them were rather alike. Unless that was the exact reason why they didn't get along.

"Who else?" Reborn asked.

"Kyoya-senpai, Kyoko, Hana, Ryohei-nii and Takeshi are all on the secondary tier," Tsuna said. "Shoichi and Spanner have recently been added to the support tier. Everyone else is on the protection tier. For now, at least."

Reborn nodded, quietly absorbing the information.

"What do you plan doing in the future?" Reborn asked.

"My immediate goal is to finish school with good enough grades to accepted to a decent college. But I suspect Neesan will pull strings and neither she nor you will let me pass with just 'good enough grades'," Tsuna said.

Reborn nodded, a sly smile growing on his face. "Now that you don't have to worry about Vongola and terrible teachers of Namimori are no longer an issue, I expect top marks."

Tsuna chuckled weakly. "I thought so. But other than that, I don't really have an exact plan. Unlike some of the others, I don't know what I want to major in, what I want to do. I figured I would just enjoy the journey there."

There were some places he wanted to explore, if he could convince Ayame to take him. Kamikawa's Library was one, but so were a few other places that Giotto had told him in the Spirit World too. He would like to go back to France too, so he could actually appreciate the country this time around.

But mostly, he was going to let the wind take him where he went. He would learn whatever Ayame and Reborn were willing to teach him, help his friends explore their interests, and just make sure he would wake each day to see the sunrise.

"I just want to enjoy life," Tsuna said with a small smile.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Shadow Contract**

"I agree," Reborn said. If Tsuna felt he had to become a full member to follow Ayame, then becoming a secondary tier member to follow Tsuna was the first step to make.

"Good," Ayame said. "I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"That's it?" Reborn asked.

Ayame nodded. "That's the whole point. We carry on with our lives until we are requested. So, if you want to go cause chaos somewhere, I'm certainly not going to stop you."

Huh. Well in that case...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Soulmates**

Dino fidgeted, running a hand over his jacket, smoothing it out. Ayame had requested that he meet her at her apartment.

The last two and half weeks had been… odd. He had confessed to Ayame, Ayame had reciprocated. He started this crazy progress of slowly pulling out of Italy and moving to Japan (with all of his people strangely supportive). Ayame dropped the bomb that she own Kinga Corporation.

Suddenly the reason why she didn't let him pay for her dry cleaning suddenly made so much sense.

With all the whirlwind of activity, this was the first time they were going out on a proper date. Dino paused. It was a proper date, right? He panicked, unsure if he was supposed to have brought something, -not flowers, he learned his lesson, food? Ayame liked inarizushi- with him.

The door swung open, and Ayame stepped outside, closing it behind her. "Right on time."

"You look nice," Dino blurted out.

Ayame glanced down at her outfit, her usual black dress with white sleeves. "This is what I normally wear," she deadpanned.

"I know! I mean umm," Dino sputtered.

Ayame rose her eyebrow before shaking her head. "Your silly man," she said. "I hope you wore comfortable shoes."

Dino glanced down at his sneakers. "Yes? Why?"

Ayame opened the door to her apartment. "You're going to need it. Follow me."

Dino stepped through the door, and came out in the middle of a forest. He blinked at the stone steps that appeared beneath his feet, raising his head. The stairs extended all the way up as far as the eye could see, framed in red torii gates that stood out against the lush green forest.

"Where?" Dino asked.

"We're on Mt. Eike," Ayame said, standing further up the steps, looking back at him. "Come now, it's a long way up."

Dino followed behind her as they trekked up the stairs. He remained quiet on the way up, sensing that this was something important to Ayame. Dino didn't dare to disrupt her thoughts as they climbed.

Eventually, they made up to the top where a small shrine guarded by Kitsune greeted them.

Dino grinned to himself. Kitsune huh. Well that certain explained why Ayame liked this place.

"Hold this," Ayame said, handing Dino a bucket of water. She picked up another bucket and took him down a winding path behind the shrine.

"So where are we going?" Dino asked as they walked past the shrine.

Ayame came to a stop at a small clearing. "I figured I should introduce you."

Dino looked, seeing two headstones in the middle of the clearing. "Your parents?" he asked.

"... No."

Ayame took the bucket of water from Dino and began washing down the headstones. Once that was done, she pulled out from the second bucket a box of pocky and a melon and lit the incense.

Dino watched quietly as she went through the motions. The grave on the left read Honjo Tier and right Kazakami Asher.

"Ayame?" Dino asked, afraid to break the silence.

She pulled out a blanket from the second bucket, setting on the ground. Taking a seat, she patted the ground next to her, motioning Dino to sit.

"I have a hard time talking about them," Ayame said as a preamble. "But if this relationship is going to work, you need to know and understand."

Dino frowned. "If you don't want to talk about it…"

"I never do," Ayame said. "But it's hardly fair to you if I don't. Meet Asher and Tier. In a bit of rarity, I had two soulmates. They were mine, I was theirs. A perfectly balanced triad. As you can see, they're gone."

Dino blanched, reading the dates. They had both been so young when they died. "Ayame… they died six years ago."

"Yes," Ayame said. "We were fifteen or well, I was fifteen. Tier's birthday hadn't passed yet and Asher's was still months off."

Dino stared at the graves wide eyes. Fourteen, the same age Tsuna was now. "Can… I ask how?"

"By the same bastard who murdered my parents," Ayame deadpanned.

What? That… was... Dino's head spun. Ayame just casually dropped information when she was in the mood. So not only had she lost her soulmates at a young age, she lost them to the same person who  _killed her parents_? Her parents were murdered?

"Of course, the bastard is dead. This time I ensured it. Dismantled the whole organization while I was in the progress," Ayame said. "But it won't be the last time someone tries something like that."

"This… you're warning me how dangerous it is get involved with you?" Dino asked. Oh, the irony. He expected to be the one delivering this conversation to Ayame, not the other way around.

"No, just telling you what is the reality of getting to know me. While my security precautions are strong, at least four people have gotten too close enough to Tsuna for comfort. He doesn't know it, but something to be aware about," Ayame said. She waved her hand dismissively. "The danger runs both ways for us."

She took a deep breath. "But that's not the most important part. What you need to understand is that losing a soulmate is devastating. Even more so for me who is far more sensitive to impacts it has on one's mind, soul and emotions. There is no 'moving on'. It is a grief I'll carry until I die, a sense of loss that no one will be able to fill.

"We'll grow in our own way together, but know I'm going spend a lot of time comparing you to them and seeing where you failed. I'm going to paranoid and slammed you with as many tracking spells and protection charms I can create. I'm going to have a hard time getting out of bed because it hurts too much. I'm not a nice person. I will lash out, hit all your weak points." She smiled deprecatingly. "Afraid yet?"

"I'm not frail," Dino said. "I come with my own issues. I'm clumsy, you know that. I will break everything at some point or another. I have just as many enemies who would want to hurt you and I know all about paranoia. For all my smiles, I'm manipulative to a fault because that's how I was raised. Are you okay with that?"

"Well I suppose if you are okay with me potentially breaking your heart, I'm okay with you potentially breaking mine," Ayame said morbidly.

"No faith in us, huh?" Dino said wryly.

Ayame smiled. "Prove me wrong."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Asher and Tier**

"So can you tell me about them?" Dino asked. They had sat up there for several hours, just soaking up the nature and sun in silence. Ayame might not count it as one, Dino thought for a first date, it was quite nice, relaxing even.

"Asher was a ball of sunshine, a puppy," Ayame said. "Full of energy and a curious and open mind. A social butterfly, he spent most of his time trying to convince me to look up from my experiments, convince Tier to put down his book and go out and have fun.

"He also was gifted with music, a prodigy with multiple awards and plenty of followers. There are some movies and tv shows who still use his music even today."

"He sounds like a happy person," Dino said.

"Yes, he was. He took life for what it was, living it its fullest extent," Ayame said. "I learned to enjoy the simple pleasures, a good meal, a smile, a song all from him.

"Tier, I knew from when we were babies. Our families were close friends. If Asher was all energy, Tier was all calm, solid like a rock and unwavering. He was always too old for his age, mature in way most adults weren't, realistic and a solid work ethic.

"He always played devil's advocate, to Asher's optimism and my calculated odds, always preparing for the worse and having contingency upon contingency plans to help him. Despite all of cold reasoning and logic, Tier was the one who gave me hope.

"We balanced each other out nicely. Asher was my happiness and energy, Tier was my grounding and rock," Ayame said.

"I wish I could have met them," Dino said. "They sound like amazing people."

Ayame smiled sadly. "Me too."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Howling Night**

Dino blinked. He could have sworn he was just talking to Romario. The walls of their hotel room were gone, replaced by a night sky, so dark there were no stars reflected above.

A yellow feather hovered in front of him, writing out in delicate script,  _'Welcome.'_

Dino yelped, surprised. "What's going on?"

There was a flutter of wings as an origami phoenix landed before him.  _'I don't quite approve, but if you make her happy.'_

"Make her happy?" Dino repeated. "Ayame?" Was this some sort of crazy shovel talk?

' _Pass this test and you'll get at least my seal of approval. Convincing Engetsu might be difficult though.'_

What test? Dino stared at the crazy spirit(?), had to be a spirit.

A howl pierced the night, echoing loudly.

' _Prepare yourself.'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Signal Start!**

Tsuna woke to darkness. That in itself was odd. He reached out, quickly hitting a wooden surface. "What is this?" he asked, pushing at it.

The wood easily moved, pushing open like a door.

Tsuna sat up, looking down on the lush red material he had been lying on. His heart clenched, recognizing the shape of the box. A coffin.

What happened and where was he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the disappearance. RL hit me hard in the face. Still is actually. But here is how the Shadow Court works. Hey we finally get to find out about Asher and Tier. Dino and Ayame will work things out, eventually. Taking it slow is a good thing. This wraps up the Moment of Truth Arc and…. Future Arc start!
> 
> This concludes what I've been calling "Book 1" in my head.  **If you don't like R27 this where you stop and turn back.**
> 
> At this point, I've wrapped up 95% of the mysteries introduced in the last 36 chapters, including but not limited to, what happened between Tsuna and Ienari age 8, eight of the nine occupants who live in this house, and how Ayame, Kinga and the Shadow Court all play a role. Basically this is a good stopping point if you absolutely hate R27.
> 
> While you can read my version of Future Arc and a little beyond that (as R27 doesn't happen until my Timeskip Arc) I make no promises because I intend to introduce the next set of mysteries. Pick your poison if you plan on continuing or not.
> 
> See you all in a month. Have a safe and happy holiday.
> 
>  
> 
> **General Notes**
> 
>  
> 
> See Chapter 22 A Demon in My View for the first time Ayame's weapons appeared.  
> See Chapter 21 Shadow Court for Nono's explanation of the Shadow Court  
> See Chapter for Ayame and Tsuna's fight. Tsuna being Shadow Emperor means should Ayame ever go rogue, it is Tsuna's responsibility to stop her.  
> It's never directly mentioned by Ayame or Mukuro who can also see it that she had only one soulmate.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	37. Future Arc: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger: N/A**  
>  **Warnings: N/A**  
>  **Important Stuff:**  
>  Small OC Cheat Sheet  
> Spirits:  
> Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.  
> Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.  
> Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.  
> Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household  
> Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
> 
> Others:  
> Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.  
> Honjo Tier - Ayame's soulmate, dear friend, deceased  
> Kazakami Asher - Ayame's soulmate, dear friend, deceased

**-last time-**

_Signal Start!_

_Tsuna woke to darkness. That in itself was odd. He reached out, quickly hitting a wooden surface. "What is this?" he asked, pushing at it._

_The wood easily moved, pushing open like a door._

_Tsuna sat up, looking down on the lush red material he had been lying on. His heart clenched, recognizing the shape of the box. A coffin._

_What happened and where was he?_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Bad Feeling**

Tsuna didn't need Hyper Intuition to tell him something had horribly gone wrong. His stomach twisted and flipped, churning uncomfortably as every instinct was screaming at him. Why a coffin? Why did he wake up in a coffin of all places? It was a sick joke and he doubt any of his friends would have done something so cruel.

The sound of someone approaching had him scrambling to his feet. Tsuna tensed, on guard for anything. Only for Hayato to appear.

Except it wasn't him. It couldn't be him. Tsuna felt the blood drain from his face, the ringing of Hyper Intuition clamoring louder. This person looked like Hayato, just much older, easily around the same age as Neesan and dressed in a black suit. But there was no mistaking that silver hair and green eyes.

"Hayato?" Tsuna asked, dumbfounded.

Hayato looked at him, stunned. "Juudaime-?"

There was a poof of smoke. Hayato, the Hayato Tsuna knew, took his place.

"What's going on?" Hayato asked, carrying his toothbrush.

Tsuna reached out to pull Hayato into a hug, relief replacing the confusion he felt. Things were still wrong; Hyper Intuition still shrieked like a wailing banshee, but at least Hayato (the  _right_  Hayato) was here.

Hyper Intuition rang and Tsuna swiftly pushed Hayato behind him, his Flames ready to spark and ignite. This time, a blue-haired person wearing a cloak came out bushes.

"Welcome," the woman said. Her cloak parted, revealing the armored gauntlet she was wearing.

Tsuna didn't let her finish. Hyper Intuition was still screaming at him, their surroundings were unknown, and she was armed. As far as he was concerned, she was threat until more information could be found.

His Flames ignited, coating the entire area in Sky Flames. The woman fired several bullets from her weapon gauntlet. Hayato reached over Tsuna's shoulder. His red Storm Flames surged, creating a wall that stopped the bullets in its tract.

"Normal bullets don't work, huh?" the woman said. "And a higher control over your Flames than expected."

Tsuna's swords materialized, flashing into existence, above the woman's head. They circled, gathering light at their tips. She didn't notice. Tsuna lifted his arm. " _Hametsu no Hikari_ ," he said, dropping his arm.

"Who are you?" Tsuna asked, as the light died down.

The woman was kneeling, clothes smoldering and breathing heavy. "That was new," she said, holding her hands up. "Much better than expected from, Vongola Decimo."

Tsuna faltered. "What-?" Why… Why would she?

"I am Lal Mirch," the woman said, removing her goggles. "I will explain to you what's going on."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Improbable**

Tsuna felt numb; his mind spinning as Lal Mirch explained to him in detail what was going on. Next him, Hayato frowned, throwing looks of concern at Tsuna.

This was the future. Impossible. Utterly impossible. Except the trek to  _Vongola's_ base, the surrounding Namimori scenery, unfamiliar or dated, the tech in the walls, the sense of familiarity,  _Takeshi_  looking older. It all pointed to the truth.

But it made absolutely no sense.  _Decimo_. Lal called him Decimo, said he had been leading Vongola in a private war against Millefiore. She described how Tsuna's future counterpart fell to a sniper, how his Guardians scattered. Tsuna's blood ran absolutely cold as Lal clinically delivered how Byakuran murdered each of the Arcobaleno with poison, fingers twitching, trying to resist scooping up his version of Reborn into his arms.

This was completely wrong. How was this his future? Where was Ayame? What happened to Ienari? How did he go from having nothing involved with Vongola to leading it? Who was Byakuran?

So many questions, he was drowning.

"Tsuna," Reborn murmured, placing his small hand on Tsuna's leg, the gentle humming of their Flames intertwined, allowing Tsuna to ground himself. Tsuna took a deep breath. "What happened to Ienari?" he asked.

If nothing else, the fact that Tsuna was Decimo was what didn't make the most sense. Morbidly he could picture a world where Ienari had died and Vongola came back for him. Even if that was the case, the title of Decimo should not be his. Unless Ienari died before he was crowned, in which case, Tsuna was going to do everything in his power to prevent it. If Ienari failed to inherit Decimo, it meant he died  _young_.

(Ienari was still his brother.)

"Who is Ienari?" Takeshi's older counterpart asked.

That knocked the wind out of Tsuna. He stared at Takeshi in disbelief. How could Takeshi not know Ienari? Of all the people in the room, Takeshi definitely should have known who Ienari was. Unless...

"How long have we been friends?" Tsuna asked.

"Since we fourteen, when you saved me from doing something stupid on the school roof," Takeshi answered, bewildered.

"Who gave you your silver bat?" Tsuna asked.

"Reborn."

Hayato twitched and Leon crawled to Reborn's open hand.

"Kyoto Spring Trip," Tsuna said.

Takeshi blinked. "We went on one when we were about twelve? I think."

Relief washed over Tsuna. His legs wobbled as he cradled his head. Thank every god above.

"Imposter!" Hayato roared, bombs appearing in his hands.

"No, Hayato," Tsuna said, placing a hand on Hayato's arm and shooting a sharp look at Reborn who was equally armed.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, eyes narrowed. His grip on his sword tightened.

"Parallel dimension," Tsuna said, almost breathless with relief. "This isn't our future. You're not my version of Takeshi."

" _Neesan, you describe planes as moving up and down. What happens if you go left and right?"_

" _In theory, parallel dimensions. Reality is frail in my opinion and there's probably some ridiculous amount of power required to break the boundaries, so it's not something I'm really interested in testing. To generalize, parallel dimensions are dimensions that look similar to ours but have minor or major differences. For example, there's probably a dimension where you're an only child, a dimension where Ienari is an only child, even a dimension where you and I didn't meet."_

Tsuna had no idea how they got here, or why it even worked, but a parallel dimension. He was so thankful that he didn't become Decimo, as terrible as that probably sound. The relief was almost overwhelming.

"Ienari is my twin brother," Tsuna explained as this version of Yamamoto frowned, grip tightening on his sword. "We've been friends since we were ten when I stopped you from doing something stupid on a bridge. Neesan is the one who gave you your silver bat and we do not talk about the Kyoto Spring Trip, ever."

A parallel dimension explained all the differences. It explained why this Yamamoto felt like a solid rainstorm instead of that whimsical airy damp feeling like a light shower. Even Namimori felt  _less_ , that vibrant energy Tsuna contributed to spirit energy, lacking.

It was a bit worrisome. Did that mean he never met Ayame in this dimension? If Ienari didn't exist, it certainly explained why he was Decimo, but the other impacts that Ayame helped create that was missing.

"Well… it's not like we understand how you got here," Lal said with a frown. "Still, there are plenty to worry about."

Tsuna looked over at the older version of Yamamoto who was still frowning. "Don't worry. We'll still help out."

"But," Yamamoto said, uncomfortably.

"Even though I'm not your Tsuna and you're not my Takeshi, we're still friends," Tsuna said. He may not understand why they were here, but he wasn't going to leave this version of his friends high and dry.

"Byakuran is targeting the Vongola Rings," Reborn said. "So, we should be fine as Tsuna and his friends don't have our dimension's Vongola Rings."

"There's that at least," Lal said. "I don't know how they'll survive without it though."

"Actually…" Tsuna said. He pulled out his necklace, pulling out silver ring with an orange gem out.

Hayato held out his hand, revealing a matching ring with a red gem.

"... Those aren't the Vongola Rings," Reborn said.

"I've been meaning to explain that," Tsuna said, blushing red. "Neesan… may have figured out how basically depowered the Vongola Rings and make new versions? So, while they aren't Vongola Rings, the power that made the Vongola Rings so powerful, the Trinisette, it's anchored to these new rings. The Vongola Rings that Ienari has are pretty much empty husks. Still powerful, just not as powerful as before?"

"You can't just "remake" the Vongola Rings," Lal said baffled.

"It's Neesan," Tsuna said with a shrug.

"You have no idea how valid of an explanation that is," Reborn said with grit teeth.

"As long as Neesan doesn't show up, the complete set won't materialize in this dimension if the trend of replacing us one for one continues," Tsuna said. "She's holding onto the Lightning Ring because Lambo is too young."

"Lambo? Not Haru?" Reborn asked.

"Well, taking account of Element synergy, who got the rings became clear once Kyoya-senpai claimed the Cloud Ring in the battle royal," Tsuna said. "They caused so much damage."

"Ah," Reborn said, pleased. "You knew about that."

"More importantly," Tsuna said, "we need to find the others, especially if we are about to be swapped. Where is everyone?"

"We have been tracking Hibari for a while," Giovanni said. "He has been hunting down information regarding Millefiore."

"And where is Ryohei-nii, Chrome and Mukuro?" Tsuna asked.

Everyone from this future stared at him.

"What now?" Tsuna asked.

"No, it's just surprising to hear you talk about Mukuro like that," Yamamoto said. "We don't know where Mukuro and Chrome are but Ryohei-senpai was out looking for them after Chrome last contact."

"Ah," Tsuna said, mildly put off. He really didn't like this dimension at all. Mukuro was  _his_.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Underestimate**

Kyoko knew something was wrong the minute the smoke cleared from her view. A warehouse; that was new considering she had been in her room, getting ready for the day. Her guns materialized as she cautiously looked around. A black sign with the words White Light printed on it, several wooden crates and boxes, piled high and someone who prickle her senses, just hovering out of her range.

"Found you!" a pink haired man shouted, diving down.

Kyoko fired.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Steal My Future**

"Hahi, I think we found Kyoko-chan," Haru said, eyes wide as a blast erupted from the warehouse in front of them. In her arms were I-pin and Lambo; the green sparks of Lightning Flames flickering around her. Haru had been displaced, she wasn't anywhere near this place -she didn't even recognize this place- this morning. I-pin and Lambo had said similar things, that they were having breakfast with Nana before landing here.

"Haru!"

She turned to see Tsuna, Hayato and was that an older Takeshi (how did that make any sense?), running down the street.

"Hahi!" Haru said. "Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-nii!" Lambo and I-pin cried out, jumping out of Haru's arms and into Tsuna's arms.

"Is Kyoko with you?" Hayato asked.

"Found you Vongola!" A dark-skinned man flew at them.

Yamamoto drew his sword, taking a protective stance in front of everyone. "I'll handle this," he said.

Neither the man nor Yamamoto were able to do anything, before another attack exploded out of the warehouse. A ball of red, orange and black energy sniped the man, exploding and vaporizing him into ashes.

Kyoko strolled out the warehouse, still armed and bloodlust glowing in her eyes. The wisps of smoke and ash clinging to her like a cloak.

Yamamoto stared at his disintegrated opponent. "What was that?" he asked. "Kyoko?" Then a pink cloud of smoke engulfed him and he was replaced with his younger counterpart.

"Hahi, I'm so confused," Haru asked.

"Tsuna?" Takeshi asked.

"What is going on?" Kyoko asked, temper snapping.

Tsuna looked at them wearily. "Let's go back. We have a lot of explain."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**There are pieces**

Reborn didn't like what he saw. He didn't like the way (his) Tsuna's shoulders were tight with tension. He didn't like the way (his) kids pressed close to each other, guarding each other's back, even though they were (supposedly) among allies.

He definitely didn't like the way this dimension Tsuna had turned out. It… spoke of a true mafia don. It also spoke of a very Tsuna mindset. He purposely sent his Guardians across the globe before going to that meeting that would result in his death. But not before laying the groundwork that would lead to this mess.

There was no proof but Reborn's instincts told him that this dimension Tsuna was reason why they were here.

He reached down to touch his pacifier. Lal had told him of the Trinisette Poison. How his future counterpart had collapsed, finally giving out just days before their arrival. He mentally snarled the idea that he was trapped here at this base, unable to help. He locked up those feelings, knowing that Tsuna and his friends were looking at him as a calm pillar of strength. Powerful they were, but still young. If Ayame wasn't here, then it fell to him.

It didn't mean he had to like it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Dueling Mist and Rain**

Chrome looked around, recognizing the broken-down room she was in as part of Kokuyo Land.

"Such a pretty young girl."

Chrome instantly summoned her trident, the weapon Mukuro had taught her feeling the most comfortable. "Who are you?" she asked, staring at the strange man.

The man pushed up his glasses. "I do not know why you much young, Dokuro Chrome of Vongola, but I, Glo Xinia will be the one to capture you and present you to Byakuran-sama!"

Chrome frowned. She didn't like the sounds of that. "You can try," she said boldly. "But you will fail."

Glo Xinia cracked his whip, coated in bright blue Rain Flames. Chrome ducked under the wide swing, summoning up a large panther.

Her illusion leapt at Glo Xinia. He swiped, surprised when his whip actually bounced off the panther. Chrome charged forward, swinging her trident. It slammed against Glo Xinia. He stumbled backwards, clutching his head. He hissed, blood rolling down his face.

"You littl-"

Chrome lunged, stabbing her trident into his shoulder. His whip fell to the ground as her Mist Flames flooded the room, blurring her into the surroundings.

"Don't think you can easily defeat me!" Glo Xinia howled. He struggled, pulling out a blue box. An owl coated in Rain Flames emerged from it.

Chrome frowned. She didn't know what that animal was, but it was probably dangerous if it had Rain Flames.

Until it turned on its owner.

"What is this!" Glo Xinia shouted. He ducked as his previous owl swooped at him.

"Kufufu, you're full of hot air," the owl said.

Chrome smiled as she saw the red eye with the kanji for six in it. "Mukuro," she said. She didn't know why she was here, how she had gotten here, but at least Mukuro was still around.

"Impossible! I killed you!" Glo Xinia said.

"It is Mukuro," Chrome said. She gathered her Mist Flames once more, materializing a copy of Mukuro. She leveled her trident at Glo Xinia, the illusion of Mukuro mimicking her. Her heart was beating rapidly. It was pure bravo on her part, but she could do this. She knew she could.

She wasn't that weak girl that Tsuna had to rescue anymore. She wasn't Nagi. She charged.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Deep Sleep**

Yuni closed her eyes, feeling herself drifting. Soon, her instincts told her. Soon, she could make her move.

Soon this nightmare would be over.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Moving Out**

"We've picked up Hibird!" Giovanni shouted, drawing everyone's attention. He pointed to the screen as the camera picked up a small flying yellow bird.

"Hibird?" Tsuna asked.

"It's the bird that follows Hibari around," Bianchi said, crossing her arms. "It looks like it even has a transmitter attached to it."

"It looks like it's headed towards Namimori Shrine," Takeshi said.

"Should we follow it?" Tsuna asked. "The signal is getting weaker it looks like. We'll lose our window of opportunity."

"It could be a trap," Reborn said.

"I've just confirmed there are multiple Rings present," Giovanni said. "One is a ring of tremendous power."

"Probably Gamma," Lal said. "Those two who attacked Kyoko are from his division."

"Then let's go. Takeshi, Hayato and me will head to the shrine. Kyoko, be careful, but you're on backup. I want the rest of you to continue searching for more information," Tsuna said. "A trap it may be, but better to be aware of it when we spring it."

"Got it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, parallel dimensions. Ahaha. So this is "canon's future". There's a reason for that. You'll see. If you're confused about the swapping kids, the TYL!versions are referred by their last name. No general notes this time.
> 
> The update schedule is going to be a little wonky going forward. I will try to maintain the once a month posting, but RL is still kinda a mess right now.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. ;3

**Author's Note:**

> Title from ‘We Weren’t Born to Follow' by Bon Jovi


End file.
